


Facing the Past: Year 1

by AnxiousElfWalkingBy, draconicPenartastic, dy_n_m, Lucarn, TentacleBubbles, the_crownless_queen



Series: The Present is a Gift [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Alternate Universe - No Quirks (My Hero Academia), Developing Friendships, Eventual Romance, Fluff and Angst, Gryffindor!Nemuri, Gryffindor!Tensei, Hufflepuff!Aizawa, Kinda, Modern Era, Multi, SO MUCH TEA, Slow Burn, Slytherin!Yamada, Tea, flangst, you don't understand
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-16
Updated: 2018-11-07
Packaged: 2019-07-13 05:06:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 30,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16010900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnxiousElfWalkingBy/pseuds/AnxiousElfWalkingBy, https://archiveofourown.org/users/draconicPenartastic/pseuds/draconicPenartastic, https://archiveofourown.org/users/dy_n_m/pseuds/dy_n_m, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lucarn/pseuds/Lucarn, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TentacleBubbles/pseuds/TentacleBubbles, https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_crownless_queen/pseuds/the_crownless_queen
Summary: Aizawa Shouta was six when his life was ripped apart and stitched back together again. Yamada Hizashi was seven when he found a crack in the box of a life his parents kept him in. They haven't met yet, but the hands of Fate have already begun to steer them together.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> HUGEHUGE H U G E THANKS TO ALL THE CO CREATORS AND BETA READERS OF THIS STORY-  
> THIS IS N O T MY STORY ALONE!!! ALL OF US ARE WORKING ON IT TOGETHER, I'M JUST UPDATING ON MY USER! SO PLEASE CHECK THEM OUT THEY'RE ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT  
> LOVE YOU BABES <3333  
> SO PLEASE IF YOU'RE LEAVING KUDOS OR A NICE COMMENT DON'T JUST COMPLIMENT ME!!! A LOT OF US WORKED ON THIS STORY TOGETHER! AND IT'S A H U G E STORY! SO THERE'S SO MUCH MORE TO COME! THANK YOU FOR READING THIS NOTE AND HAVE FUN READING!!! <333

Shouta couldn’t quite process all the events happening one after the other. All he knew for certain was that his mother had woken him up, then he was being carried, and then she was running. He didn’t say anything, didn’t question it. His mother was running in clear panic, meaning her wasting her breath on pointless answers would be very illogical.

He _did_ want to know where his father was... And why they were running in the first place. All he could do for now though, was clench his tiny fists on his mother’s shirt. He felt a hand cradle the back of his head.

“It’s — It’ll be okay, Shouta... Mummy’s got you,” his mother managed to say.

Normally, this would either embarrass him, or he’d find it quite… Pointless. There was no need for idle chatter, words of comfort, when something was a big enough danger that it had to interrupt his sleep. He watched over his mother’s shoulder as their home became smaller and smaller the further she ran.

Before he knew it, they were surrounded by trees. This must’ve been the nearby forest he never actually got to go inside of.

Shouta tilted his head. He saw the large trees reach the sky, and momentarily wondered if he’d ever manage to reach the top. He shook away the childish thought. Honestly, his mother was in distress, and here he was deciding whether he was capable of climbing trees. He stopped a snort threatening to escape him.

His mother took a sharp turn, and then he felt himself get shoved under some bushes — a hole in the tree.

Had he been older, he would’ve wondered how exactly his mother knew about this little spot in the tree, out in the woods. It was as if she knew something like this was bound to happen. But he was six, and wouldn’t wonder about that for a while still.

As she sat her son down, she carefully brushed his messy hair away from his eyes, giving him a warm smile.

“You’ll be safe here, okay Shouta? Just promise mummy you’ll be good, okay?”

Shouta didn’t particularly like the tone of his mother’s voice, it wasn’t at all comforting, despite her words. He nodded anyway.

His mother smiled again, but it didn’t reach her eyes.

“Yes, safe… You’ll — You’ll be…” She stopped, biting her lip, looking away as though she was trying not to cry. “I can’t… I can’t wait to see you again, Shouta.”

And she ran.

Shouta was silent as he sat beneath the bushes, which hid his small body easily. He contemplated his mother’s words. She said she couldn’t wait for them to see each other again, which obviously meant that they’d meet up at some point. That she’d come back, right?  
So then… So then why did it feel so much like a goodbye?

He didn’t know how long he sat there for, but his mother asked him to be good — so he should stay sat in this… Hole.

_Snap_

Shouta’s head shot up at the noise, almost jumping right off his hiding place, though somehow having enough will power in his six year old body to keep still.

By the sounds of sniffing, Shouta was fairly sure it wasn’t a human that had followed him, but what creatures lived in the woods? He wasn’t too sure as he had never ventured so far from home, and even then he had been strictly under his parents’ eyes, clearly visible to them at all times. It got awkward for him, so he usually decided that staying inside and sleeping was probably the better option.

Shouta covered his mouth, trying to be quieter. Though if something was _sniffing_ him out he doubted trying to keep silent would help at all.

The heavy thumps of this creature’s footsteps sounded clumsy, or lazy, but the weight caused the ground beneath him to shake ever so slightly. The boy swallowed whatever gasp was about to escape from his mouth as the creature made its way into his view.

It was… A dog. An oversized dog. Or was that a wolf? What was a wolf doing here? He wasn’t a fan of dogs, definitely preferred cats. For a moment, Shouta completely forgot that he was meant to be hiding, and tried to lean in to get a better look. Natural child-like curiosity that, more often than not, got said child killed. So it should’ve been completely unreasonable that Shouta insisted to himself he get a better look.

And now he was paying the price.

The wolf snapped its neck towards him, and without wasting another second, it pounced right into the bush with wide jaws, and a scream ripped through Shouta’s throat when the fangs chomped down onto his arm. The wolf lifted him from the ground and threw him out, and Shouta didn’t have time to get up before the wolf lunged again with a roar. He’d never heard anything so loud in his life.

The wolf didn’t care for his pain at all, apparently, and looked ready to snap his jaws shut once it leaned over his head. And it would’ve, if it wasn’t suddenly hit by a beam of light.

Shouta covered his eyes with his uninjured left arm, and curled into a tight ball. He wasn’t sure what was happening around him. He merely heard zaps and howls as whatever was fighting the wolf kept on battling.

The wolf was determined to stay over him, rather than go in to attack, as if contemplating who it should kill first. Whoever was fighting the wolf managed to move it away from him, though he honestly felt it levitating for a moment before he lost its presence.

A loud thud from where Shouta guessed his attacker was thrown, he still refused to move or uncover his eyes. Merlin forbid something happen to his eyes…

He wasn’t sure how long had he been laying there, though he remembered hearing the wolf whimpering in pain and scurrying off to safety. Whoever saved him had at least done a good job. If he wasn’t panicking so much, he would have applauded them.

Shouta felt a hand on his shoulder and tensed — however gentle it was, the attack left him in shock.

Thankfully, his screaming had ceased a little while ago, but he couldn’t help the occasional painful whimper that escaped his throat every time he moved his arm.

“It’s alright,” the voice spoke softly. “I mean you no harm.”

He didn’t want to open his eyes. That would be irrational — what if this stranger hurt them? At least… That’s what his parents would say. But his parents weren’t here right now so… So surely he should greet the person who saved him…? It didn’t… _Sound_ like they wanted to hurt him...

He opened his eyes.

The first thing he noticed was the white hair. It stood out easily against the greenery around them, and deep, yet kind black eyes that watched him with patience. His face was almost cat like, which had Shouta interested in him quite quickly — only for his body to suddenly remind him of the quite badly bitten arm.

A yelp, followed by a wail left his lips. Shouta tried to hold his injury, as if that would help at all. The man fell to one knee and gently pried Shouta’s hand away.

“It’s not wise to touch it,” he said, stroking the boy's raven hair. “I know a lady that will help you, and she can quickly make it better, okay?”

Shouta sniffed, then aggressively shook his head. Smacking the man’s hand away, he rushed back into the tree hole and sat in it. The man followed him.

“Now why are you in there?” His voice betrayed nothing as he continued to speak, as if he was just having some pleasant conversation with a friend.

Shouta tried to glare, only for it to come off as more of a frightened look. “Mom told me to stay here — I’m… I’m staying until she comes back! She said — She… That she’d…” He lost his words, unable to believe them himself. His mother had just… Left. Why did she leave? Where was she now? When would she be back?  
He briefly wondered if the wolf had gone after her too, then shook his head. His mom was strong, that little wolf wouldn’t do anything to her.

Something flashed through the man’s eyes, something Shouta couldn’t describe. They looked around, before slowly reaching into his pocket, showing it clearly to Shouta so he wouldn’t feel threatened. Then he slowly pulled out —

Shouta scoffed.

A lollipop. He was _not_ a —  well, actually, yes, he _was_ a child. But he wouldn’t consider himself so young that a lollipop would lure him out of his hiding place. As his parents would say, that was too illogical.

But… That sweet _did_ look really good… Shouta bit his lip, glancing away from the treat before he began to feel more tempted. The man spoke up again.

“I promise that I won’t hurt you. Your arm needs to get better, okay? And my friend can kiss it better.”

Shouta just managed to stop himself from rolling his eyes - what was it with adults and treating him like a kid? He was plenty capable of taking care of himself…

… Though with the amount of blood gushing out, down his arm, Shouta began to feel a little lightheaded, and as he didn’t wish to be in a vulnerable position, he slowly crawled over to the man’s thigh. His head rested on it for just a moment, before he was suddenly picked up.

“I’m Nedzu,” the man murmured in his ear. “What’s your name?”

Shouta wrapped his tiny arms as best as he could around ‘Nedzu’s neck, mumbling against the skin. “Shouta… Aizawa Shouta…” His eyelids began to drop further down, and was unfortunately unable to catch what else Nedzu had said.

He was so… Tired.  


 

Shouta woke up in a room so bright and white that he thought he had gone blind for a terrifyingly long second. He immediately closed his eyes again, stopping the light from assaulting him and breathed out a sigh of relief when the darkness engulfed him once again. For a moment, he just laid there, enjoying the blissful silence he rarely got back home. His parents were noisy, and while they had learned to tone it down, it could only get so much better...

His parents! Mom! Shouta drew in a sharp breath, his eyes snapping open and blinking a few times, quickly familiarising himself to the bright light. Where was he? H-how long had he been sleeping? Oh no, mom must be worried! What if she came back and he wasn't there, he had to get to his mom, and he had to go _now_.

Shouta quickly moved to sat up, before letting out a painful cry as a sharp pain in his arm forced him to stop. Looking over, Shouta found his whole arm was wrapped in white bandages, travelling from his shoulder to his elbow and his eyes widened at the memory of the wolf. As blurry and fuzzy as the memory was, the fear and pain were there, still fresh in his mind. Shouta bit his lips, stopping another groan.

Escaping would be a stupid decision. Plus, he was only six, with one useless arm. Even a fly would have a better chance than he did, that’s for sure. So Shouta laid back on the pillow and let his eyes wander around the room.

He was in a hospital of sort, if the amount of beds with identical plain white sheets arranged in rows meant anything. The room was devoid of life, not a single other person could be found. The wall was a calming brown, with large windows all across. He could see the sun through the trees and hills, though the location rang no bell. Where was he?

The man with white hair - Nedzu, he had given Shouta his name - must have brought him here, wherever here was. With nothing else to do, Shouta laid back again, this time shifting until he was comfortable and closed his eyes again. Might as well enjoy the peacefulness, at least until Nedzu returned, and maybe the man would help him find his mom. That thought put his mind at ease, and he let sleep claimed him again.  

  


The next time Shouta woke up, it was to the sound of talking. The raven-haired boy scrunched his eyes at the bright light that was sipping through his closed eyelids and slipped out an involuntary groan. His body felt tired and heavy, like his muscles were made of stone. Shifting only reminded him of the pain in his arm, so he opted for laying still. Next to him - or was it above? - the hushed conversation was still going on.

He caught a few words and phrases from the conversation, something along the lines of _"...to infect a child"_ and _"... if it had been only a wolf"_ and he slightly frowned in confusion. He knew that he was bitten by a wolf, or at least that was what he remembered, but infected? Was the wolf carrying some sort of disease? Or maybe they didn’t get him to the hospital fast enough?

Shouta tried to calm his racing mind, letting out a few short breaths. That must have caught their attention, as the conversation suddenly stopped and he felt a warm weight on his arm, pressing down gently in a comforting matter. Shouta slowly started blinking, squinting in an attempt to sharpen the bright blurry image.

He was greeted with the rows of beds and tall walls with wide-opened windows, though it was now night time. The bright light from earlier must have been from the chandelier hanging above him, that gave the room a warm, cozy feeling. He looked to his right and found Nedzu, the man looking straight back at him. His dark grey eyes softened, and Shouta could make out a trace of sympathy and sadness, same as his mother’s eyes. His mother!

Shouta opened his mouth, wanting to talk, but what came out was a hoarse sound, dry against his throat. Immediately, the white-haired man waved his wand, and a cup of steaming hot tea appeared out of thin air, against all law of elemental transfiguration. Nedzu carefully levitated the cup to Shouta, still smiling that gentle caring smile on his face and Shouta would never admit it, but it did calm him down.

Taking a few sip of the warm tea, Shouta hummed around the brim, collecting his thoughts. Nedzu and an old lady with greyish black hair, styled up in a bun, seemed okay with giving him some time, and the three spent the next few minutes in a calming silence. Shouta finally spoke up again, and was glad to hear his normal voice, albeit a bit gruffier.

“Where am I?” A simple enough question.

“You are in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, more specifically in our hospital wing.” Nedzu’s voice carried across the empty room, and Shouta winced at the sudden volume. Nedzu took notice, of course, for his next words were spoken in a much softer tone.

“I’m Nedzu, and I am the principal of the school,” This was said with pride in his voice, before Nedzu gestured to the lady next to him. “This is Chiyo, and she’s the school’s matron. She takes care of the students, and for the last night or two, you as well.”

Shouta nodded, committing the words to his mind. Hogwarts, he had heard of the school but then again, who hasn’t? The school was famous, one of the best in the country- maybe the world- and it was any kid’s dream to enter. And he had been here for two days already?! Shouta let out a frustrated noise, before he continued his questions.

“What...What happened? Where’re my parents? Do you know what happened to them?” By the end, Shouta’s voice was louder, with a hint of fear. He watched as Nedzu’s expression shifted from calm and controlled, to anxious and hesitant with a hint of sadness.

Nedzu and Chiyo exchanged a look, as if they weren’t sure whether to break the news. The pleasant silence from before was gone, and replaced with uncomfortable tension. Nedzu cleared his throat, carefully considering his next words.

“Your parents…” he started, nodding slowly. “They, ah, might not be able to… Visit you, for a very long time, Aizawa-kun.”

The boy’s eyebrows furrowed, perplexed at the wording. What did he mean they wouldn’t be able to visit him? And why was the word ‘Visit’ used? Visit implied that the guest would leave at some point. Why would his parents leave him again?

Chiyo pursed her lips, quickly noting Aizawa’s confusion. “They’re unable to come here, Aizawa-kun.”

“Oh,” Shouta mumbled, then started to shuffle out of the bed. “Guess I’ll go to them, then.”

His feet barely brushed the floor before Nedzu had quickly snatched him back up and placed him on the bed, his hands remained on Shouta’s shoulders. He took a long breath to calm himself. “Your mother is a very, very strong woman, Aizawa-kun…” he whispered, Shouta wasn’t sure where the conversation was going, but he didn’t like it. Something about it felt… Wrong.

“Where’s my mother?” he asked suddenly, then shoved Nedzu’s hands away from his shoulder. “Where is she? She told me she’d meet me again- She said she couldn’t- She said she’d meet-! She SAID-!”

“I know, Aizawa, I know, but as it is right now, you can’t… It’s not possible.”

_“Why?”_

Nedzu stared at him for the longest time, specifically his eyes, though Shouta didn’t feel as though he was being stared at- As if his eyes weren’t really- Oh. _Oh._

His hair flew up-- the sudden movement making Nedzu jump-- and glowing red eyes pierced through the man’s onyx black ones. Shouta managed to muster up a terrifying glare- Which would’ve been ‘terrifying’ had Shouta not been a six year old. This made him look more like a cornered puppy, which wasn't too far off from how he felt.

“Where’s my mom?!”

“Now now, please calm down.” Nedzu said, voice soft and calm. “Aizawa-kun, we mean you no harm. Please, calm down.” He repeated. Still, the reassurance fell on deaf ears, as Shouta only shrunk further away from Nedzu, glaring back.

“Where. Is. My. Mom?” Shouta emphasised each word, voice going as low as it physically could- Sounding rough and scratchy. Nedzu wasn’t intimidated by the tone- Nor his words-- but the glowing red eyes, the wild hair, it genuinely looked as though Shouta was about to lunge in and attack.

“Aizawa-kun, I need you to pay close attention to what I’m about to say, okay?”

Shouta wasn’t pleased, scrunching his face and allowed his hair to fall around him, the eyes thankfully stopped glowing. Nedzu observed it may have something to do with Shouta’s blink- He did appear to get quite defensive over them. Nedzu sighed. “I don’t wish to make you upset, Aizawa-kun, but… Do you remember that wolf?”

Once again confused, Shouta nodded slowly, taking some time to process the question and any hidden meaning. The man looked to the side, hesitating for just a moment, before speaking up. “Your mother… And your father, they… They probably didn’t make it, Aizawa-kun.”

Didn’t make it? What did he mean “didn’t make it”? What didn’t they make? Was it an item? Or something else?

Chiyo took over when she noticed that he didn’t quite pick up on Nedzu’s subtle hinting. She sat on the bed and placed a gentle hand on Shouta’s shoulder. He looked up at her, startled.

“Aizawa, your parents are no longer in this world.”

Nedzu bit his lip at the wording, it was never a good feeling to tell someone their family was dead- or gone. He couldn’t help but feel Chiyo’s words were a little harsh for the six year old, though it seemed Shouta wouldn’t get the message any other way. Nedzu observed Shouta’s face, searching for emotions. Shouta appeared blank for a moment as he stared at his hands.

“Oh.”

The adults winced at the voice crack. Shouta felt his heart sink to the pits of his stomach, and suddenly it was hard to breathe- much less swallow. The pounding in his chest reached his ears, and everything was loud- Too loud, and too bright and too _much_. A hiccup escaped his lips before he had time to stop it, and Nedzu wasted no more time before he snatched Shouta up and hugged him close- Tight and warm.

Shouta trembled as the arms wrapped themselves around him, and he couldn’t stop himself from gripping onto the man’s shirt, latching onto his only form of safety as of this moment; Nedzu felt his heart melt as he felt the tiny hands hold onto him best they could.

He pressed his lips against the top of Shouta’s head, rocking him back and forth- Wisely choosing not to say anything. He didn’t think words would help this child at all at the moment.

It was only a few more minutes before Nedzu slowly felt the grip loosen on his shirt, and he quickly realised Shouta must’ve gone back to sleep. He didn’t let go, only brought the child closer to him as he glanced at Chiyo with a frown.

“I don’t think it was wise to… Say it so bluntly.”

She hummed, “That’s what you say, but he either wouldn’t have understood your subtly, or be too smart to realise you’re lying. It’s best to get straight to the point with kids like him.” she appeared confident in her wording, as though she had dealt with kids or problems like this one before. Though, as she was a nurse, she probably had.

Even still…

Chiyo interrupted his thinking.

“Keeping it a secret until he was older wouldn’t have helped at all. You would only keep dragging it on and hoping he wouldn't bring it up again- I know you would.” Her gaze softened. “I know you care for him- Because of his parents- But you can’t just sugar coat things like this, it’ll only hurt more when you _do_ tell him, and by that point… He may feel betrayed that you kept quiet for so long. He deserves to know, Nedzu.”

“But we don’t- We don’t _know_ they’re dead- We just assumed-!”

The soft gaze dropped, going serious. “If they weren’t dead, they would’ve messaged us the absolute second they could. They’re capable of many things, and if Hana thought it was her time, then she would’ve hidden her child and ran, getting the danger away from him. And that’s exactly what she did. You can’t keep denying it in hopes it isn’t true…”

They were quiet. The danger away for now, after taking away the parents of an innocent boy, and damning him to an awful fate. They both knew it wouldn't be the end for young Shouta, but Nedzu would die before letting anything happen to him.

The door slammed open, their heads snapping towards it, four teenagers standing in wild poses.

“THE WILD WILD PUSSYCA-”

“SHHH!!!”

The four jumped, swallowing their words, and took notice of the sleeping boy in Nedzu’s arms. They whispered.

“ _The wild wild Pussycats have arrived._ ”

“Do you really always have to make such an energetic entrance?” Chiyo scolded, but it was with an affectionate tone that wasn’t normally used on her clients. These four however? Who couldn’t love them.

“Aww Recovery Girl~! It’s part of our image!” Ragdoll insisted, then tiptoed in quickly to get a better look at the six year old. She cooed. “He’s so cute! What’s his name?”

“Aizawa Shouta.” Nedzu said, not really looking at the four as he fondly watched the tired boy sleep. Mandalay and Pixie Bob walked in next, Pixie Bob holding a little girl with long blue hair. She appeared to wriggle in Pixie’s hold as she desperately tried to get a look at the new boy’s face. Tiger was holding a bunch of bags- What Nedzu assumed to be gifts.

“We came as soon as we heard,” Mandalay whispered. “It’s really awful, for something like this to happen.”

The Pussycats didn’t know about the Aizawas, only Chiyo and Nedzu himself knew about them - aside from the villains, unfortunately. It was such a closely guarded secret, that the Aizawas didn’t wanted Nedzu and Chiyo to tell anyone else, no matter the circumstances - whether they felt the person could be trusted or not was irrelevant. So unfortunately, the diverse group had no idea of the true reason as to why this awful event occurred - Nedzu only made up a bunch of lies on the spot that were deemed believable enough.

“We’ll take care of him, you know that right? Anytime it’s too busy for you- Just call us, we can help.” Mandalay murmured, playing with Shouta’s hair. “It’s no trouble, besides, I’m sure Nemuri would appreciate a play date… And…” She looked up, staring right into Nedzu’s eyes. “You don’t need to burden yourself- Nor overwork. Taking care of a child alone is-”

“Thank you, but, no thank you.” Nedzu cut her off. “I’m more than fine with taking care of him- I have to… Besides, if he’s around it… It may not be so quiet at home anymore.” He offered them a sad smile, which kept the four silent. Nemuri was not too interested in the “sob story” and finally managed to escape Pixie Bob’s hold.

“Nemuri-!”

Nemuri squealed excitedly as she crawled quickly over to Nedzu, peeking through his arms to get a better look of the new boy. Nedzu chuckled warmly. “This is Aizawa Shouta,” he shifted the raven so he rest on one arm, then held Nemuri with the other. “Would you like to be his friend?”

The girl flashed her pearly white teeth. She was thrilled, absolutely _ecstatic_ at the mere idea of having a new friend. She eagerly reached out and wrapped her arms around the boy, giving her best efforts. They were roughly the same size, with Shouta being taller, but much skinnier. She looked up at all of them.

“I’m gonna be his- His bestestestEST friend ever!”

They each shared a laugh, finding the girl far too cute for words. She ignored them as she continued to hold Shouta, not at all bothered that he was sleeping. Nemuri was odd like that, she could switch from absolutely zero patience to staying still for hours on end. Nedzu blinked as Nemuri suddenly snapped her neck towards him, determination in her eyes.

“I’m gonna protect him!” She vowed, and Nedzu forced himself to stop the grimace from showing through. It was a typical Nemuri trait that if she found a new friend, she’d promise to keep them safe best she could. But… With Shouta, Nedzu would rather she didn’t. She had no idea what she’ll get herself into if she promises such a thing. However…

He couldn’t downright crush this poor child’s determination.

“Just… Just make sure he’s happy, okay?” Nedzu pat her head, her grin grew as she held Shouta tighter.

Merlin forbid Nemuri has to deal with her promise ever breaking… Nedzu would just have to make extra sure it would never have to.

 

**_One year later, somewhere else entirely..._ **

 

Yamada Hizashi was a good kid.

He followed his parents orders to a T, even when he thought maybe there were better ways to do things sometimes. His parents were strict with a lot of things, but they always said it was all for the best, and it was all for him. He believed them. What else was he supposed to do?

All that being said, Hizashi had just made a mistake and now he was a bit… lost.

He thought he _knew_ the spell well enough, and he’d only wanted to see if there were new toys in that shop his mother went with him to sometimes. His parents were strangely very busy lately, and they haven’t gone to town in so long. He thought he could get away with using the floo powder even just a bit. He _was_ seven years old, he’s plenty big enough to do so.

But, well, he still got lost.

Hizashi looked down the alley, not knowing where he’d teleported himself to and not even entirely sure how to get back. He still had some floo powder in his pocket, but what if he messed up again?

As he walked down the alley, Hizashi wondered how much time had passed, and tried to ignore the nervousness. He really didn’t want to know if his parents had found out he was gone yet.

The alley went on for a long while, so much so that Hizashi started to wonder if it was charmed. Just as Hizashi thought he should turn back, he reached the end of the alley, abruptly hit with bright light. He didn’t even know how quiet it had become in that alley until he was assaulted with the sounds of people.

 _So many people_ and _noises_ he couldn’t even identify. What were those? They all sounded so different! Hizashi walked out of the alley, staring at everything, watching a huge shiny _thing_ speed by on the road.

Oh.

_Oh!_

That was a _car_ and he was— he somehow got to the muggle world!

Suddenly Hizashi stepped halfway back into the alley he came from, all the warnings and passing comments his parents said to him rushing through his mind. This was bad. He should leave, he shouldn’t be here! They’ll be so mad!

Hizashi began to turn back, ready to run and try his luck getting back home. But then.

He heard the jingle of a bell, and saw someone leave what looked like a store, the sound of music escaping out into the open.

_Except he’d never heard that kind of music before._

It was loud, louder than ever allowed in their house, with so many instruments Hizashi couldn't possibly name them all - and the words!

Filled with curious excitement, Hizashi followed the music all the way into the store. It was a bit dark, but there were shelves upon shelves of these small glass cases with drawings and names on the sides. What were they for?

He walked further into the store, not trusting himself enough to touch anything. There were also boxes full of vinyl records, making Hizashi smile wider in recognition. So he’s in a music store!

Hizashi went all the way to the back, where a person with long hair sat at the counter. They wore a headband and beads in their hair, as well as a shirt with swirling colours. They gave Hizashi a friendly smile, leaning over the counter.

“Hey there, little buddy! Are you lost?” they asked.

Hizashi stared up at him in awe and in fear, shaking his head just a bit. This was the very first time he’s meeting someone who’s so clearly a _muggle_ and yet so different from the _mudbloods_ his parents loved to complain about.

“Well then, are you here to browse?” the person asked, starting to look concerned.

Oh no, oh no; Hizashi couldn’t be found out, oh no, _say something_!

“What — ” the person looked just as surprised as Hizashi felt at his own voice.

“What music is _that?_ ” Hizashi blurted, cheeks reddening. _Oh Merlin of all things to say!_

But the person chuckled, face brightening.

“That’s a classic is what it is,” they said, reaching for something behind the counter. They took out one of those thin glass cases and showed it to Hizashi. They almost handed it to him, but Hizashi must’ve let his panic show because the person retracted their hand and just put the case on the counter.

“Seriously though, where are your parents?” the person asked, concern back in their voice.

“I -- they don’t — !” Hizashi’s panic rose, and he nearly bolted right then and there.

But the person — this _really nice Muggle person —_ waved their hands about.

“Sorry, sorry, don’t answer that,” they said. “how about this. Do you like classic rock?”

“Classic rock?” Hizashi repeated, surprise and renewed curiosity taking over the panic. “What’s that?”

“Oh boy.” The person grinned, taking out another piece of a thing from under the counter. It was a very small rectangular thing with buttons on it, with weird blue chords coming out of one end..

“Here.” The person stuck one stubbly end of the chord into his ear ( _What!?)_ and offered Hizashi the other chord. After a _long_ moment of hesitation, Hizashi took the chord and inspected it. Well. Here goes nothing. He put it to his ear the same way he saw the person did.

“Okay, let’s see,” the person began clicking one of the buttons on the _thing_ and —

 _Oh boy_.

Hizashi’s eyes widened, and he stared at the person in amazement.

_How did they get the music inside such a small box!!_

“I guess your parents haven’t let you have one of these,” the person said, laughing a little. Their laugh sounded a bit off, but Hizashi was too busy marvelling at the _tiny music box_ to notice much.

“There’s more than a hundred songs there, I think,” the person went on, unknowingly feeding Hizashi’s awe.

_How? And how come nobody back home used this!!_

The person, urged by Hizashi’s excitement, went ahead and taught him what all the buttons did. Hizashi held the box — the _music player_ in his hands, and began going through song after song.

He was in love.

Hizashi would’ve spent the rest of his life in that store if he could, taking in all of the music and learning all the words to the all the songs. There were so many of them, he could probably do it.

But the thought of his parents brought him back to reality. They’d _never_ approve of this, they’re going to scream at him and lecture him. Running off and using floo was one thing, but _talking to a muggle?_

Hizashi slumped his shoulders, all the joy evaporating, leaving him deflated. He was so dead.

The person looked concerned again, and Hizashi could feel his panic rising _again_ . He took off his chord — the _earphone_ and moved to give the person back their music player.

To Hizashi’s surprise, the person pushed the music player _and_ the earphones back into his hands.

“No, yeah, keep it,” they said, “it’s a spare, anyway. You should get back before you get in trouble. But come back soon, okay?”

Hizashi had no idea how the person could’ve _guessed_ that, had no clue if he could _ever_ come back, but he was so _so_ grateful. He gave his most sincere smile, backing out of the store while trying to memorize the person’s bright, smiling face at the same time.

He stuffed the music player and earphones deep in his pockets, way deep, hoping it was enough to hide it. Hoping his parents would focus on the missing floo powder and not anything else.

Hizashi got what he hoped for that day, a long lecture about responsibilities and image and so many other things his seven year old mind couldn’t bear to care about. How could he, when what he heard from his parents was not what he saw from that alley? What he _experienced_ with that person, and that person’s music?

And, though he wouldn’t be able to come back to that store for a while yet, he had the music player. He had _music_ and the memory it came with and it was something he knew he wouldn’t be able to let go in his lifetime.


	2. The Start of the Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The kids are finally headed to Hogwarts! And they're fated meet up is just around the corner.  
> Minor bumps on the way, but other than that, everything appears to be going really well for the kids.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ;zlsdfzs;dg I know we said "We'll upload every Sunday" but the chapter was done, and we've finished chapter 2,,, so like,,, why not,,,?,,?  
> Basically uploading chapters might not have a particular schedule but it should be at least one every week. Hopefully.

Shouta was pretty good at dealing with things.

He’d dealt with a lot since he was six, after all. Finally going to Hogwarts as a student rather than ‘the headmaster’s kid’ was just another thing he had to deal with. Besides, he’d actually like it if everyone stopped referring to him as the latter.

“Hey, headmaster’s kid! Are you ready to go?” Speaking of the devil… Mandalay peaked into Shouta’s borrowed room, grinning when he just frowned at her. “We’re leaving in a few minutes,” she reminded him.

“I know, I’m almost done.” Shouta ducked his head down to hide his excitement. He  _ really _ was almost done packing, even if he’d lost track of time. 

Thankfully, he only had one suitcase and one backpack, even though it felt like it should’ve been more. After all, he’d spent a little over a whole summer with Mandalay and her family — her friends too, who all collectively insisted they be called the Pussycats. One would think he would’ve amassed more stuff.

“Is Shou-chan done yet?” Ragdoll popped up from behind Mandalay, carrying a bag of her own. “You’ll have to walk there if you don’t hurry!”

Mandalay’s family lived far from the city, and they had to leave nearly a day early if they wanted to get to their train on time —  _ the _ train; the one and only Hogwarts Express. It wasn’t like Shouta hadn’t ridden it before, but this would be the first time he was doing it without his dad, and as a student.

“I’m done.” Shouta zipped up his bag, standing up and slinging it over his shoulder. Mandalay went over and grabbed his suitcase. He didn’t even have time to protest before she was already out the door, and all he could do was follow.

“Are you excited? I’m excited!” Ragdoll walked alongside him, bubbly as always. “I’m always happy to see new kitties in school, but now you’ll be one of them!”

Shouta hummed in answer. He didn’t really know if he was excited about the ‘meeting new people’ part, all he knew was he’d have to deal with this change.

“It’s okay if you’re nervous,” Ragdoll said suddenly, more subdued than she’d been all morning. “There’s going to be lots of students your age, and you’re finally going to be sorted! It’s a lot to take in.”

Shouta hummed again, considering her words.

“I’d rather just sit with you guys than go through the Sorting Ceremony,” he admitted after a moment. Knowing him, this was as much an admission of nervousness as anything.

“Hey now, it won’t be so bad!” Pixiebob cut in, just as they entered the living room. She was, at the moment, wrestling a suitcase into submission. “You’ll have Nemuri with you!”

“Nemuri’s definitely going to be sorted into Gryffindor,” Shouta pointed out. “I don’t know where I’ll end up.”

“You can always ask Nedzu if you can sit with us,” Ragdoll said, faux innocent smile on her face.

It was no secret to any of them that Shouta would never ask for special treatment. In fact, the very reason he was going with the Pussycats now was because he had insisted he wanted to start out the same as everybody else.

Shouta was saved from answering by Tiger and Mandalay, who entered the living room as well.

“We’re all set,” Mandalay said, before noticing Pixiebob’s struggle. “Or should I say, almost set?”

Tiger went over to help with a chuckle, and between the two of them the suitcase was shut and packed away in a matter of minutes. Then all they had to do was bid goodbye to Mandalay’s family and get in the car.

It was going to be a long ride, but Shouta didn’t mind since it meant that he could probably take a nap and ignore the excited chatter sure to happen in the car. He sat in Tiger’s lap, using him as a pillow, with Pixiebob and Ragdoll on either side of him. Mandalay and her older cousin, who was driving, sat up front. 

At first they were all talking, making sure nothing was left behind, last minute checking, all the fun parts of packing and moving. Eventually, they all managed to settle down, the four teens and single adult holding idle conversation while Shouta drifted in and out of sleep.

During the time he was awake, Shouta’s thoughts wandered.

He owed a lot to the Pussycats, not just for letting him stay with them during the summer and pretending they didn’t notice him disappearing a night or two every month. He owed them just as much as he owed Nedzu — as much as he owed his parents, even if he couldn’t remember them as well now as he did before. They did a lot, just for him. He still didn’t know how to repay them.

He had  _ some _ ideas, of course, but would Nedzu let him? 

The answer was always ‘not yet.’ He’d ask again this year, because he wasn’t dumb enough to go behind his dad’s back. But Shouta just  _ knew _ he’d get another variation of ‘not yet.’

“So, Shouta,” Pixiebob brought Shouta’s attention back to present, “the big question! Which house do you think you’ll end up in?”

“Hush,” Mandalay scolded, “you know he likes to nap during car rides!”

“I really don’t know,” Shouta answered anyway, blinking himself to wakefulness. “I don’t think I’d mind being in any of them. It wouldn’t matter, anyway.”

“That’s right!” Ragdoll nodded, pulling Shouta into a half-hug. “Your House is what you make of it! We find family where we can, not just in our Houses.”

“Ain’t that the truth,” Mandalay said with amusement. The other Pussycats laughed, agreed.

“Well, whichever House you end up in, you’ll have one of us with you,” Pixiebob said, like an assurance. This, at least, Shouta knew to be true.

* * *

 

Hizashi sat on his bed quietly as he listened to his father’s voice drone on and on — something about blood purity or what not. 

He desperately resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the silly concept. Who on Earth  _ cared  _ what status your “blood” was; who even checked these days? The main difference between Muggleborns and Purebloods was that babies from wizarding-only families tended to have slightly stronger cores but that ultimately meant nothing if you didn’t work for it. 

His father paced measuredly, his steps strong and willful. It was as if he was just recounting a list of chores that needed to be completed.

“You must absolutely never —   _ NEVER  _ associate yourself with such low life mudbloods! They will taint you, Hizashi. We are better than them; they should be kissing the floor we walk on — ”

Hizashi said nothing, focusing more on keeping his face blank rather than actually paying attention to what his father was saying. 

“Such lesser beings shouldn’t even exist to begin with —  they taint this world, they —” 

Hizashi did his best to tune him out, but that only led to his own bitter thoughts running rampant. 

_ Of course they do, they ruin everything for you, don’t they? I bet it’s so hard to watch them go on with their lives, struggling to get by, while you’re there, sitting in your fancy carriage and wondering why they haven’t gawked at your very clear “glory” yet. _

There was so much he wanted to say, to yell out his thoughts about the whole ‘pureblood’ nonsense. Sometimes he felt like bursting. He couldn’t, though, and so he waited as patiently as he could while he wished he would get the words out — maybe one day, he could.

“Father,” Hizashi interjected when his father eventually paused for breath, “I  _ do _ need to finish packing.”

By the time his father finally,  _ finally  _ allowed him to be by himself in his room after the hour long talk, Hizashi felt like he was getting a headache. 

For three days straight, his parents had been nagging him about acting like “the Pureblood that you are” and “meeting all of our expectations.” He was impressed with himself with how he hadn’t snapped yet, though he felt like he might if he didn’t get out of here soon.

Thankfully, Hizashi was actually excited for the same thing his parents were for once. He’d received his Hogwarts letter three days ago, and tomorrow morning he was  _ finally  _ leaving.

_ I guess since I’m gonna be at Hogwarts soon… They just want to make extra sure I won’t be some… Some “blood traitor”. Great… _

Dealing with their constant pressure, their expectations, the media… He hated it. Hated  _ all of it _ ... And he couldn’t help but feel as though something was wrong with him. He was from a pure bloodline wizarding family, he was going to be a Slytherin (whether by choice or not was irrelevant) and probably do that- that  _ thing  _ when his parents wore black cloaks and weird masks. He wasn’t entirely sure what that get-up was for, but he never questioned it — couldn’t bring himself to.

Questioning it would get him in trouble anyway; there was no point in going through it if he didn’t need to… At least, not yet. 

Most kids got excited for Hogwarts because it was a new experience; it was a school for them to learn to be true wizards and witches — it was supposed to be fun.

For Hizashi, it was a place where he could maybe,  _ just _ maybe, finally be free.

* * *

 

To say Nemuri was excited would be an understatement. She was thrilled, but also nervous — as any eleven year old child would feel on their first day of school. Though not just  _ any  _ school, but Hogwarts! The best magical school out there (at least, if you asked Nemuri). 

Pushing her trolley to the platform, Nemuri looked around, trying to catch sight of her friend in the mass of people, but to no avail. With a sigh, she took out her phone and quickly sent him a message while tapping her foot impatiently. 

[10:25 AM]

_ 12 am in the morning _ : Yoooo! where r u rn?!

_ Kitten: _ I am already on the train, how about you, Nemuri?

_ 12 am in the morning _ : nah just arrived gotta push my way in first this place is 2 crowded for merlins sake x-x >w< !!! 

_ Kitten _ : Please hurry up then. 

_ 12 am in the morning: _ omg do u rlly care about me :00 <333

_ Kitten _ : No. 

_ 12 am in the morning:  _ </3

_ Kitten:  _ Whatever, just hurry up. I’ll be waiting. 

_ 12 am in the morning: _ alright alright god u r soooo bossy 

_ Kitten: _ Shut up.

Shutting her phone with a grin, Nemuri looked back up at the sea of people in front of her before pushing her own trolley forward, struggling to reach the wall between platform 9 and 10. Maybe she should have woken up earlier to get here sooner, but oh well. She shrugged and pushed forward.

Finally, after much effort, Nemuri ran through the wall and found herself at platform 9 ¾. The Hogwarts Express stood on the tracks proudly, its red colouring still bright and flashy despite its age. 

The station was filled with sound, laughter and cheerful greetings echoing through the air as families shuffled around, exchanging goodbyes and sending their children to board the train, off for the rest of the year, like they themselves had once done. It was a shame Nemuri’s parents were busy today; they had just dropped her off at the station with a hasty goodbye and kiss on her forehead. 

Sure, it was… A little hurtful that they couldn’t see her off on the first day of school. This  _ was _ a life changing place and  _ maybe _ it would’ve been nice if they could just…  _ Stop  _ working for just a  _ second _ ... For their own  _ daughter... _

Her phone buzzed, snapping her back into reality.

[10:40 AM]

_ Kitten: _ Does it take everyone 15 minutes to go through a hole?

_ 12 am in the morning: _ wow not even concerned 

_ Kitten: _ Last thing I need is someone I don’t know inviting themselves in this  _ currently empty compartment _ .

_ 12 am in the morning: _ dw no one would want to sit next 2 u

_ Kitten: _ You know, sometimes I wonder why we’re even friends.

_ 12 am in the morning: _ ALL THE THINGS IVE DONE 4 U!!! IVE EVEN GIVEN U HALF MY SWEETS! MY  _ SWEETS _ !!

_ Kitten: _ Meh, you getting on or what?

_ 12 am in the morning _ : u have no patience

_ Kitten _ : Not when it comes to you, no.

_ 12 am in the morning _ : actually so r00d

_ Kitten _ : Would you get on already?!

_ 12 am in the morning _ : CHILL MERLIN

_ 12 am in the morning _ : but yeh im coming 

Nemuri hastily turned her phone back off, nearly vibrating with excitement as she hurried towards the train —  and almost immediately realised that she had no idea what she was supposed to be doing. Looking at all her bags and luggage — okay, so maybe she had gone a little overboard here, but who knew what she might need —  Nemuri stood there, frozen, trying to figure out a way to get all of them on the train. Some of them weighed more than she did! 

Nemuri’s attention was grabbed by a — oh Merlin, that was a large family.

“Now, did you remember your toothbrush?” the mother was asking worriedly, fretting loudly. “ _ Yes, _ ” a blue-haired boy replied. To Nemuri’s ears, he sounded exasperated, and she bit back a grin.

“Your pyjamas?”

“ _ Yes _ .”

“Extra boxers just in case you have an accident...?”

“ _ MOM! _ ” the boy screeched, his cheeks so red Nemuri could see it from where she was standing.

She watched them carefully as they stepped closer to the train, quietly hoping that she could catch what she’d have to do with her luggage, taking them as an example. 

However, the blue-haired boy appeared to notice her inner distress, and he walked up to her happily, a patient smile planted onto his lips.

“Hey there! Can I help you?” he kindly asked her, his smile brightening.

Nemuri stared at him for a moment, silently trying to decide whether or not she should accept the offer. They were in a crowded place, and she was sure that if the boy decided to do something suspicious, it would not go unnoticed. Plus, he seemed like a nice dude, with a nice family, not like she’d know much about that... But her parents had taught her to be wary of strangers, even well-meaning ones.

But hey, what other choices did she have? 

“Yes! That would be great…” She trailed off at the end, before hurriedly adding a sir. 

“Oh! No ah —  I’m not — I’m eleven! Not a ‘sir’.”

Nemuri stared blankly, and she distinctively felt her jaw drop. How how  _ how  _ could this boy just be  _ eleven _ ? He was soooo  _ tall! _ And big — Super big! He reminded Nemuri of a bear.

He appeared friendly enough, and someone who Nemuri presumed was his mother giggled behind him. 

“My my, what a wonderful young lady... Isn’t my boy just  _ so _ handsome?” she winked.

_ “Mom!”  _ Tensei’s face cringed, burning brightly with embarrassment as his mother continued her teasing, laughing loudly. 

It wasn’t mean, though, or demeaning. It was a very pleasing sound, actually, Nemuri decided. 

“I’m just teasing, Tens — Oh! Now, I can’t go doing the introductions for you now, can I? The kids and I will be off then, do help this poor girl.” 

Nemuri watched the scene with a wistful smile on her face, which she promptly hid when the boy turned back to her. 

“Ah, sorry about that. My mom was just...being herself, yeah.” He chuckled, but in those short interactions, Nemuri had been able to see the love between them. It made her heart twinge. “Anyway, my name’s Tensei! Iida Tensei, but, I prefer Tensei... Nice to meet you!”

“Kayama, Kayama Nemuri! Call me Nemuri.” She grinned, offering her hand out. Tensai beamed back, shaking her hand for a bit before separating them and gesturing to the trolley. 

“Shall I help you with these then?” 

“Oh god, yes  _ please _ !” Nemuri groaned, before stepping back. “Do your thing, Iida-san.” 

The boy laughed loudly. “Please, just call me Tensei!”

She watched as the blue-haired boy carefully picked up her trunks with ease and moved it up on the trunk of the train. How was he this strong this young? 

Soon enough, all of her trunks were on the train, and she thanked Tensei profusely. He just laughed it off. 

“But seriously, thanks dude!” Nemuri continued. “I gotta run now, though, my friend is waiting but I’ll see you again, yeah?” 

Nemuri was glad to see Tensei nod before she took off to find Shouta’s compartment.

* * *

 

Hizashi swallowed for the tenth time that day. His lips felt dry as he walked closer to the platform. His parents weren’t with him, thankfully, and so he had managed to style up his hair in a public bathroom at the train station. Some of the Muggles had eyed him a little oddly, but Hizashi didn’t care — this Muggle gel was just super cool! 

New school, new him, new friends! Hizashi couldn’t wait.

His parents had specifically told him that the platform was between 9 and 10, a hidden gate so the Muggles couldn’t get in. Apparently one had to specifically run towards it in order for it to work. So merely leaning against it had no effect. It was a smart idea — Muggles usually leaned against walls or something stable as they waited for their trains, or so he’d heard from his parents on numerous,  _ numerous _ occasions. 

He finally found the platform, and positioned himself opposite it. He really didn’t want to be miss the gate. What if he crashed into the wall? What if he didn’t run fast enough for the gate to activate? 

Hizashi shook these thoughts away, taking a deep breath. There was no point in waiting. If he didn’t hurry, he might miss the train. That wouldn’t be a great start… He smacked his cheeks, preparing himself once again. He took another long, deep breath, held it, and then he ran.

At the sudden burst of speed, Hizashi was worried he might lose control of his trolley.

_ Oh Merlin, what if it was the wrong wall? He was gonna crash!! _

The wall disappeared, and in his view came a completely different platform.  _ Was this...? _ Hizashi grinned.  _ It was!  _

Platform 9 ¾ was busy still, wizards and witches rushing around and hugging their families goodbye, shoving their luggage and bags aboard the train, but Hizashi couldn’t stop his grin from growing. This was really it. 

Without wasting another second, Hizashi hurried off towards the train. His bags were thankfully charmed —  as light as a feather, as the Muggles would say. He held down a chuckle as he carefully lifted his bags up. 

He moved to the end of the train, where he knew the trunk was — it was mostly used to store the luggage, though Hizashi planned to also leave his owl, Mic, there. 

Mic’s full name was actually ‘Freddie Mercury’, but obviously his parents would throw a fit if his name was something as muggle as “Freddie”. So “Mercury” was what he was called, though for short, Hizashi would often also call him “Mic”.

His owl screeched uncomfortably as he set his cage down, and Hizashi was quick to comfort the anxious bird. Its plumage was pure black with spots of white — an odd mutation for a Snowy Owl — and Hizashi hadn’t been able to help but fall in love with it the second he’d seen it. 

Normally his parents wouldn’t have gotten an owl for him, since they had plenty at home he could use, but he’d managed to come up with a lie.  _ This owl will be the only one of this colouring, after all! It’s super rare, and befitting of a Yamada —  _ or something like that, anyway _. _

He gently patted the soft feathers through the cage, calming down the grumpy owl quickly. 

“Please, Mic, just for a little bit, okay?”

He placed Mic next to a yellow owl. It looked strangely familiar, though Hizashi couldn’t quite put his finger on it. He quickly pushed Mic towards it. “There, go make a friend as I go make my own!” 

Mic grimaced, retreating as far from the other cage as possible. 

Hizashi knew Mic hated interaction, but it’d be nice if he could make a few bird friends during the ride. The yellow owl appeared thrilled at the sight of another owl, and almost instantly began screeching in what Hizashi hoped was an attempt in conversation rather than screams of rage. He sent Mic an apologetic smile, mouthing a ‘good luck!’ as he stepped away from the trunk, then headed towards the open corridor. 

This was it. This was the train that would take him to Hogwarts.

* * *

 

It took Nemuri quite a few minutes of walking and looking through tinted glass, but she reached a compartment near the end where a familiar yellow sleeping bag laid on one of the seats, and she slammed the door open. 

“Zawa dearest!!! Your best friend is here!” she shouted, and instantly the bag shifted as a familiar face made its way into her view. 

Nemuri watched at Shouta climbed out of the bag and moved to help her with her own luggages, propping them on top of the net. He sat down again, wasting no time in getting back into the bag and wiggling to get comfortable before he started talking.

“Why did it take you so long to get here?” He glanced at his phone, frowning as the digital number read [10:48 AM]. 

“Zawa! No ‘hello’ or ‘how are you’? I’m hurt!” She sat down, sighing dramatically. “But yeah, I had a bit of a problem, but it’s all fine now. Actually, a boy helped me with that! And he’s the same age as us, too!” 

Nemuri spoke non-stop as Aizawa nodded along. The topic abruptly shifted as Nemuri fired off another round of questions — to be expected, since this was Nemuri.

“Sooooo? How was life with the Pussycats? It’s been a while since I last saw them. I bet it was freaking cool! I wish my parents would ask them to babysit me again, fun times, right?”

“It was good, they were...more tolerable than usual. And you still visited us all the time, quit being coy, Nemuri.” Aizawa mumbled, his voice tired like he hadn't slept in days. 

And with that, the two friends fell into a comfortable, old routine, where Nemuri kept talking and talking while Shouta merely relaxed and added a few words of his own in the conversation. It was nice, to be together again after all this time.

It was in the middle of Nemuri’s rant about life in general when there was a knock on the door, putting the conversation on hold. 

“Come in!” Nemuri yelled, not caring that Shouta had just made a shut up motion as she turned to grin at her grumpy friend. 

“Chillax, Zawa love, you need to be more social anyway.” That got her a smack on the head, though she knew Shouta didn’t mean it. Nemuri looked at the newcomer before she burst out laughing, as the blue-haired boy, Tensei, stood there awkwardly.

“Oh yeah! Zawa! This is the boy I just told you about, Iida Tensei! Tensei, this is Aizawa, he’s a grumpy insomniac little shit, but he means well. And of course, you already know me!” 

Nemuri simply gestured to the empty seat next to her, and Tensei smiled, placing all of his luggage up on the net before sitting down next to her. The conversation picked up right away, Nemuri continuing with her rambling and Tensei simply laughing as he joined in. 

Nemuri was glad that she had made a new friend, and she hoped Shouta felt the same. 

The conversation continued for a while longer, before the compartment door opened again. They turned towards the newcomer, Nemuri vibrating excitedly at the possibility of making  _ another _ new friend.

* * *

 

Leaving Mic behind had left him feeling slightly melancholic, and Hizashi fought off that feeling by busying himself with taking notice of the many compartments on either side of the train. Whichever way he chose to go could decide who his friends would be for the rest of his years, after all. 

Hizashi hoped they would like him. He  _ was _ likeable, right? 

He ended up turning left, and ended up looking through many compartments. A lot of them seemed quite full, and Hizashi moved past those quickly. He didn’t really want to make things awkward by squeezing in, he’d just have to hope to find a semi-empty one and make do.

The opportunity finally showed itself to him as he looked into a compartment near the end of the train, and dear Merlin was it eye-catching. A girl and two boys were chatting away, the girl made large gestures with her hands as she continued a story of sorts. The other two were just watching her but… But Hizashi would like to know what she was going on about. 

It wasn’t really any different to the other compartments he had passed by, that was true, but this one  _ felt _ special, felt  _ different _ — and what grabbed his attention most of all was the bright yellow sleeping bag... Or what he assumed was a sleeping bag.  _ Who on Earth brought a sleeping bag on the train? _

Hizashi couldn’t help but snort.

They seemed odd, and in his opinion odd was always better than normal. Normal was boring at best, and his parents at worst. 

Hizashi wouldn’t mind making friends with these guys. He breathed in to calm his jittery nerves, and opened the compartment door. 

 


	3. Times are Changing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The kids finally meet! Though Aizawa doesn't seem too interested in making friends with Yamada just yet - Once they arrive at Hogwarts, the four get sorted into their respective Houses. With that done, Yamada follows his house and heads off to his common room, the Knocker has a familiar face on it, it seems...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> APOLOGIES FOR ANY MISTAKES!! EVEN THO WE HAVE LIKE 3 BETAS SOMEHOW MISTAKES STILL CRAWL INTO THE STORY??? I DON'T-?? KNOW HOW???  
> NOW GO READ AND ENJOY THE CHAPTER!!

Nemuri looked up at the compartment door to see a boy — probably their age — with gelled up blond hair and nervous, yet almost  _ eager,  _ green eyes darted around the small room. He looked ready to ask something.

She made a guess.

“Did you want to sit with us? There’s room for one more!” She grinned brightly, pointing at the seat next to Aizawa. The blond brightened and sat down quickly, looking almost ready to burst in his excitement. 

“I’m Yamada Hizashi!” he exclaimed loudly. Aizawa winced at the sudden shift in volume while Nemuri laughed. “It’s so nice to meet you! Thank you for letting me sit! Really! I didn’t know where else to go so —”

“Do you ever shut up?!” Aizawa snapped, and Yamada appeared shocked, almost offended, that Aizawa had interrupted him so suddenly. Nemuri merely rolled her eyes.

“Don’t mind him, he’s a sour puss.” She giggled, waving Aizawa off when he tried to protest. Yamada appeared to be relieved; Nemuri was sure that this one would most likely be a Hufflepuff. She bit her tongue to stop herself from laughing. “So anyways, I’m Kayama Nemuri — but you can call me Nemuri, please!”

“Oh—! Oh, sure! Thank you so much!” 

Yamada didn’t ask her in return to be called “Hizashi” — not that Nemuri personally cared much, it wasn’t everyone’s thing to move onto first name basis so soon after meeting. She could be patient. 

Tensei continued, “I’m Iida Tensei, but please, I prefer Tensei! Anyway, what House are you all hoping for?” he asked eagerly, throwing any small talk out the window, as he leaned forward toward Yamada and excitedly awaiting the blond’s answer for the truly important question. 

The boy in question appeared hesitant. “Ah, any House is good, really. I just want to be at Hogwarts.” 

Tensei nodded at that, then puffed his chest out with pride. “Well, I’m planning on being a Gryffindor! Just like the rest of my family...!” 

Nemuri brightened. She could definitely agree with that. Gryffindor was probably the best house anyway — Ravenclaw being a close second, as the headmaster of the school himself had been a Ravenclaw. 

She glanced at Aizawa, and momentarily wondered if he would be a Ravenclaw too. It was quite fitting considering his “Logic this logic that” thing. She couldn’t really picture him in any other house.

While she was lost in her thoughts, Tensei pulled out a couple of pictures, showing them eagerly towards Yamada and Zawa, almost shoving them in their faces at times. Yamada looked enthused and exclaimed loudly at every picture, and while Aizawa seemed happy to pretend he didn’t care, Nemuri could spot the interest in his eyes a mile away.

She didn’t needed to strain her neck for long, as soon enough more pictures were shoved at her, Tensei ranting lovingly about his family.

“And this one is a picture of my troublemaker twins! They’re cousins — my age — yet they act like babies!” Tensei exclaimed fondly, showing off the moving image of a girl and boy roughhousing. Nemuri almost felt herself coo at the sight.

She joined in on their chatter after that, and by the time they thought to look at the time again, they’d already reached past the halfway point of the trip. 

At that point, though, Tensei stood up suddenly, shuffling around in his bag - a smaller one in comparison to the luggage from earlier - and brought out his robes. He smiled.

“Alright, let’s let Nemuri-san get changed first, it’ll be faster.”

Yamada hurried off his seat, leaving through the door Tensei held open. Tensei raised an eyebrow as Aizawa grabbed his own school uniform and waited in the compartment with Nemuri. They were both staring at him, actually, unmoving, expecting him to leave. Nemuri made a shooing motion with her hands.

“We need to get dressed, go!”

“But... Aizawa...?”

“Huh? Oh!” She blinked rapidly, suddenly realizing that this particular habit of theirs wouldn’t be considered as normal. She gave Tensei a reassuring smile. “Yeah, don’t worry, we get dressed in the same room all the time! It’s no bother.”

Tensei appeared hesitant, but he slowly closed the door behind him and Yamada nonetheless, leaving Nemuri alone with Aizawa. 

Nemuri giggled — Aizawa tried not to let his amusement show, but his lips betrayed him as they twitched up into a smile. He didn’t say anything as the two hurriedly wiggled into their uniforms, before heading out of the door. 

As they passed the two boys, Aizawa noticed Tensei glancing at his trousers, then Nemuri’s skirt, appearing befuddled as he went to get changed. The second the door closed, Nemuri burst out laughing.

“Did you  _ see _ his  _ face _ , Zawa? Oh Merlin — that was  _ priceless _ !” 

Aizawa rolled his eyes at her, huffing with a pout. “He probably thinks I’m a girl.” 

“I dunno,” she teased. “Not like you care either way, anyway.”

“I still want to be seen as male, Nemuri.”

“Say that to the dress you wore yesterday.”

“Clothes don’t have genders, Nemuri. I fail to see your point.”

She sighed, then pulled Aizawa — whom she viewed as a brother — into her arms without a second thought. She couldn’t help but miss their eight-year-old bodies, when she had been taller than him by an inch. Now however, her nose bumped against his shoulder when they were close enough. 

“I’m just playing around, Zawa,” she muttered, playing with a few fluffy strands of Aizawa’s hair. “You know I don’t care about that. I bet you could rock some heels if you ever tried.”

He scoffed. “Heels are a bother, too hard to walk in.” 

Nemuri shrugged at that, then took a step back — just in time for the compartment door to open again. Tensei and Yamada were fully dressed, and they greeted her and Aizawa with smiles. 

Once they sat down again, Tensei played with his hands a bit, then looking up at Aizawa.

“If you want me to address you as female... I don’t mind!”

And just like that, Nemuri burst out laughing again, wheezing loudly, even though the sentence itself shouldn’t have been that funny. Aizawa helplessly shook his head at her. 

Tensei, the poor boy appeared startled — worried that he might’ve offended someone or been completely wrong on which gender he thought Aizawa was, probably. 

Aizawa sighed and explained. “I’m a boy, through and through. But I’m not interested in girls, nor is Nemuri in boys. We’ve known each other for five years, and as we’re pretty comfortable with each other, it was only logical that we changed together.”

“Oh… Okay, sorry, that was weird —”

Aizawa shrugged. “Always better to ask than to assume.”

It wasn’t long before the topic shifted and the group resumed their chatting.

* * *

 

The train seemed to slow down as the scenery outside changed. Gone were the valley and river under the warm sun, and replacing it were mountains and forests under the deep purple evening sky. The silhouette of a castle could be seen on the horizon, slowly getting bigger and bigger as the train neared its destination. 

A voice rang out through the train, echoing  _ “We will be reaching Hogsmeade Station in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately." _

Hizashi shifted in his seat, suddenly feeling much more uneasy.  _ Five minutes _ . It was hard to believe that in  _ five minutes _ the train would stop. The trip had gone by so quickly...

He could feel his stomach lurch with nerves as they got closer to the school. He looked around to see his new friends — were they his friends? — all smiling in excitement. He could also make out Tensei’s finger twitching and tapping, and Nemuri’s foot shaking, bouncing up and down. 

Only the other boy, Aizawa, was calm, his face betraying no emotion as he slowly wiggled out from his sleeping bag. 

The train finally came to a halt, ending the longest five minutes in Hizashi’s life. The air filled with anticipation, and he could hear the sound of other compartment’s doors being opened, hear his peer’s footsteps as they walked out, chatting loudly among themselves. 

He stood up, taking a deep breath before opening his own compartment door and looked back at his friends, seeing them all ready to go. 

People pushed their way toward the door, and out to the platform. It was strangely small, with candles illuminating the place and plain decorations — nothing like the station they had started from. 

The cold wind of September was blowing gently, making Hizashi shiver. And then, suddenly, there was a lamp bobbing over the head of the students, and a voice cutting through air. 

“First years! First years over here!” 

And with that, a man came to view. He was a giant compared to the group of students, with a large scar carved in his face. He wore a dark shirt with jeans and boots, his robes opened and billowing in the wind. The hand that was holding the lantern also sported silver knuckles atop dark gloves. 

“Come on! Follow me! Any more first years? No? Good, don’t need more to deal with.” Hizashi was fairly certain they hadn’t been meant to hear that last part, but the man’s grumbling had been quite loud.

“Call me Oguro-sensei,” he added when nobody moved. “Now follow me.”

Oguro turned and started walking, the students swarmed as they followed after him. Slipping and tumbling, they walked down a steep, narrow road with trees on either side of the path. Soon enough, though, the path opened up to the edge of a lake, its waters black as ink reflecting the light from the castle looming above them. 

Hizashi let out an amazed sound and so did the others — he could hear Tensei’s voice next to him, excitedly citing facts about Hogwarts and its construction. Hizashi didn’t really listen, too busy letting his eyes wander, drinking in every single detail and committing the scene into his mind. 

“No more than four to a boat!” 

Oguro’s voice knocked him out of his trance, and Hizashi looked over at the lake’s shore. He noticed a fleet of boats there, waiting for the students. Nemuri was already dragging Aizawa to a boat, and Hizashi quickly followed, falling in step with Tensei. 

‘ _ So that makes four people then _ ,’ Hizashi thought happily, carefully stepping in with the help of Nemuri and Tensei. 

Soon, the fleet of boats moved forward, gliding on the water gracefully through no discernable mean. Hizashi turned his gaze up to see the castle looming over them. It towered over the lake, revealing more and more details as they got closer to the other end. 

Hizashi let out a gasp as the multiple towers and turrets came into view, his eyes wide open from excitement. He forced himself to will down the twinge of nervousness building in his gut, and instead let himself get lost in the view. 

“Keep your heads down!!!” the man yelled again, his voice carrying through the lake. 

They all obediently bent their heads down as the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy and into a dark tunnel. The trip seemed to take forever, as they went along the river that seemed to be taking them underneath the castle, until they finally reached a harbor. 

They climbed out onto a rocky terrain, pebbles rolling underneath their feet, and once again followed their guide. Soon enough the ground changed to smooth, stone blocks and then, almost suddenly, they were inside, but in that short period of time, Hizashi had also lost his (maybe?) friends into the crowd. 

Everyone started oo-ing and aa-ing at the amazing interior — expensive decorations, giant moving paintings (that looked at them curiously), and giant chandeliers, hanging from the too high ceilings. Hizashi has grown up surrounded by wealth, his parents willing to show it off at every occasion, but it easily paled compared to the Hogwarts. 

They climbed up a flight of stone steps and Hizashi nearly walked into the student before him as they suddenly stopped in front of a huge oak door.

“Alright, you lot stay here, there will be a teacher coming soon to guide you in.” 

With that, Oguro turned away, walking off into the distance, leaving the swarm of first year students alone. Chattering and muttering instantly started again as the waiting begun.

Hizashi gulped at the sight of the large double doors. He looked around — maybe he’d find another nice face in the crowd? Surely one could tell a soon-to-be Hufflepuff apart from the rest? 

Alas, no such luck — all of them appeared to be mainly nervous, aside from the painfully obvious soon-to-be Slytherins, sneering at anyone who so much as breathed their way. Hizashi genuinely hoped he wouldn’t get stuck in a dorm with them. That would make the next seven years a little awkward. 

An old, strict looking man walked in with his cane, the loud ‘thuds’ of the cane hitting the stone floor announcing his presence. All the first years straightened their backs as soon as his eyes were on them. They could instantly tell that this wasn’t someone they should disrespect. They anxiously held their breaths as he watched them for a moment longer, then grunted. 

“You’d better not mistreat anyone during your seven years at Hogwarts, brats. Headmaster Nedzu has no tolerance for your excuses.”

Hizashi stiffened at that, panic rising, oh Merlin — If he was going to be a Slytherin, then this, this “Headmaster Nedzu” was surely going to expel him from the get go!

He shook his head before his thoughts took over his mind — that was just silly, if that really were the case, why would the Principal bother with the Slytherin house at all? Unless… Unless he wanted to expel students easier by sorting them into the bad house…

Hizashi jumped as a hand brushed his own, and he snapped his gaze towards Aizawa, surprised and alert. The other boy shook his head slowly, in a calming manner. 

Hizashi wasn’t entirely sure why, but something in Aizawa’s cool and confident demeanor helped him calm himself down. Hizashi attempted a smile, but Aizawa didn’t return it. Instead, he focused on the old man in front of them.

“You will all address me as ‘Sir Torino’, and I don’t want to deal with any of you brats misbehaving. Trust me, you won’t like me when I’m angry.”

Hizashi noticed Aizawa’s lips twitching, as if he found this funny. Which, what? Did this guy have a deathwish or something? He couldn’t tell if Aizawa was ignorant, brave, or crazy, to smirk in the face of adversity — maybe he was all three. Hizashi nodded to himself. Yeah, that made the most sense.

Torino’s eyes glanced over them once more, and then he whirled around and opened the doors with surprising grace and strength; something Hizashi didn’t expect from someone as… Not so youthful as Torino. 

He gasped as the light poured through the door, and he almost stumbled when it was time to move forward.

The first years shuffled inside the great hall with jittery nerves. Hundreds of heads sitting at four long tables turned towards them, as they were lead forward before a fifth one. Hizashi had been nervous before, but he felt twice as anxious now that the older years watched them curiously. 

He noticed a green haired girl on the far Slytherin table waving excitedly at the first years. He would’ve waved back if Aizawa hadn’t suddenly covered his lightly blushing face with his hand. Did Aizawa know her? She did seem to be looking at him specifically. 

Another, more mature looking woman on the Ravenclaw table seemed to smile at him too. Did Aizawa have siblings in this school? They didn’t look much like one another, though, but Hizashi had seen weirder things.

Torino gestured for them to stay put, before he climbed up the few stairs. Another teacher handed him a hat and a scroll. It caught his eye, since scrolls were insanely outdated, even by his traditional family’s terms, so it was a little odd to see one used now. Maybe it was a magical scroll?

“Aoi Yuki.”

A petite girl jumped, then scurried towards the stool. She looked downright terrified, and jumped again when the hat was set on her head. Hizashi couldn’t help but wonder why she appeared so horribly scared. 

“RAVENCLAW!”

Some of the first years flinched, others yelped, the rest recoiled dramatically, almost falling over. Hizashi breathed heavily through his nose, clutching his shirt.  _ Was a warning not necessary at all?! _ He noticed a few teachers trying to hide their smiles —  _ oh, so they pulled this trick for entertainment? _ Dear Merlin, Hizashi was gonna to have a heart attack.

The Ravenclaw table cheered as the girl meekly hurried towards her table. The older Ravenclaw from earlier was standing and showing off her crest clearly. Three others were doing the same thing from their respective tables. The bubbly green one with her Slytherin crest, the sneaky looking blue one with her Gryffindor crest, and the — oh, oh  _ Merlin _ .

He was wearing a skirt — but Hizashi could easily tell that the man was very much male. He stood proudly in front of the Hufflepuff table. Hizashi wondered if their job was to represent the houses — were they prefects? 

The Ravenclaw “mascot” congratulated Aoi for making it to their house, the girl only shyly nodding as her face burned. The older Ravenclaw quickly took her to a seat, then returned to her post. 

Thankfully, he wasn’t the only first year perplexed by this. Torino cleared his throat in order to catch their attention.

“As you may have noticed, four of our students are standing, one in front of each table, Ragdoll the Slytherin —” the girl bounced excitedly, pawing the air like a cat. “ — Mandalay, the Ravenclaw —” this one bowed maturely, smiling at the first years kindly “ — Pixiebob, the Gryffindor — ” the blonde twirled a little, striking a pose dramatically “ — and lastly, Tiger, the Hufflepuff.” The boy only nodded his head firmly.

“These four represent each of the four houses of Hogwarts — if you ever have any questions, you can either ask them in person, or ask their portraits.” Torino pointed behind him, showing off the large painting — the large  _ moving _ painting — where all four students waved at the Hall proudly. They stood close together, as if the barrier of the Houses separating them meant nothing.

“They’re always happy to help, and once your house is called, go to them, they will quickly explain the characteristics of each House. Feel free to ask a quick question if you’re confused — alright, next!”

The names continued, and just four names later Hizashi heard a familiar one.

“Aizawa, Shouta!”

Next to him, Aizawa appeared to tense for a second, before taking quick, yet silent steps towards the stool. He sat down.

The Hat almost seemed to swallow his face as it was put on Aizawa’s head. It appeared in deep thought, scrunching up or raising an “eyebrow”. It only twitched for another minute or so before it loudly, and confidently proclaimed.

“HUFFLEPUFF!”

He wasn’t sure whether it was him, Nemuri, Tensei, or Aizawa himself who looked the most surprised. Disbelief flashed on Aizawa’s face for a second, before acceptance replaced it. He took the hat off, handing it to Torino, taking a peak at the Headmaster before he headed towards Tiger. 

He appeared as gruff and firm to Aizawa as with any other student, so maybe Aizawa didn’t know this one? 

Hizashi watched as Aizawa nodded a few times, listening to Tiger, then went to find a seat, finding one in between two green-haired girls. One appeared kind, and the other seemed to laugh loudly at anything that spurted out of her mouth. A lot of the Hufflepuffs around her laughed too.

The names went on and on — how many first years were there?! — before it finally landed on another familiar name. 

“Iida, Tensei.”

The tall boy proudly strut forward, without a care in the world. He sat down on the stool, and the Hat was set on top of the blue hair. Again, the Hat took its time, before announcing Tensei’s house to be:

“GRYFFINDOR!”

The cheer that followed after was thunderous, shocking Hizashi. The cheer continued, with several shout that sounded like “We got Iida!” ...Iida, ah yes, the name was familiar to Hizashi, and he was surprised that he had only just remembered this.

His father had always mentioned this name, going on and on about how they were “blood-traitors” and “should be focusing on their own business, not mingling with the low-lives”. The only good thing his father said was that the family were good Aurors, had been for generations — though the way his father spat the words out made it seem more like an insult than praise. 

Hizashi clapped, cheering for his friend as Tensei walked over to the celebrating lions, laughing along with them. The Sorting quickly moved on, names after names being called.

Nemuri was next. She oozed out confidence as she sat on the stool with her nose up in the air, looking down at the first years below her teasingly. She had to lower it to make eye contact with him and wave, though, and she jumped a little as the Hat suddenly fell on her head, betraying her earlier confidence.

Almost instantly, the Hat yelled ‘ _ GRYFFINDOR _ ’, and Nemuri looked incredibly smug as she waltzed over to the Gryffindor table, giving Hizashi a friendly shoulder bump on the way. 

Pixiebob quickly explained the House to her, something about ‘brave’ but ‘reckless’. Hizashi couldn’t quite catch it all as the Gryffindor table was too far away, though, and he opted for listening to the rest of the names left to be Sorted. 

He couldn’t stop his heart from pounding from the nerves, and before he knew it, he began to stroke the bracelet on his right hand.

The bracelet was just one of many gifts he had gotten from his mother. She tended to spoil him like that. Hizashi wasn’t too keen on the presents she’d shower him with, but if he ever denied it, she’d pull this… This kicked puppy face, and it felt like a punch in the guts. 

_ “Don’t you like my gifts...?” _

_ “But… I saw this and thought of you…” _

_ “Oh… Okay, the gift wasn’t that special anyway…” _

She knew exactly what she was doing, he wasn’t that blind, but Hizashi could never bring himself to say no to her. Hizashi was sure what his mother was doing wasn’t healthy for him but… But it was just gifts. Just presents she bought specifically for him, so… So a few here and there shouldn’t matter, right?

The only reason he actually wore this bracelet was because his mother had insisted, saying that the family had paid thousands for it. Apparently it was a special “Family heirloom” that she had given to him now that he’d be attending Hogwarts…

Besides, it honestly wasn’t as bad as some other gifts she had given him. It was a little big, yes, and slightly more gaudy than he’d like it to be, but it wasn’t too much of an eye-sore. Hizashi actually kind of liked it, for once, and he was even looking forward to the day where he could wear the bracelet without fearing it slipping off.

He didn’t realise how lost in his thoughts he had become until his name was called out.

“Yamada, Hizashi!”

Whispers broke out in the hall, and Hizashi couldn’t stop a wince. The “Yamada” name was unfortunately very well known in the Wizarding world, as they were one of the richest families to exist. If he got in Slytherin, they’d most likely shove him in a fairly high rank in the system. Though, no matter what House he got in, Hizashi was sure everyone would expect a lot from him. 

His face almost instinctively lost all life as he blankly walked up to the stool now that eyes were so obviously on him.  _ This is just like with the press _ , he told himself, and really, that’s what it felt like. They were all looking and all expecting something from him, and his parents had taught him how to keep a poker face during these times.  _ Don’t let anything show, and they won’t have anything to take. Be a picture perfect family. Perfect. Perfect. Perfect. _

His vision was obscured as the Hat fell over his eyes, and he blinked as he felt something tap into his head. It tickled a little.

_ Well, well, well… What do we have here? Another Yamada, eh? Let’s see, let’s see… Oh! Not a bad mind, not a bad mind at all, you’d be excellent in Ravenclaw, yes I can see you do well there… Ah, but I see something else… Something ambitious and cunning hidden from layers upon layers of — oh? Oh, well, this is quite interesting. I’ve never seen something like that before. Why is this stashed away… _

_ Well, Ravenclaw would be an excellent fit, but, I think — no, I know for certain that the house which would suit you best is —  _

_ “SLYTHERIN!” _

Hizashi let out a breath through his nose that he didn’t realise he had been holding. Slytherin… Exactly what his parents had expected of him. At least this way he wouldn’t have to deal with any howlers, he supposed. 

Hizashi felt the Hat getting taken off and he quickly hurried over to the Slytherin table. The green-haired girl from earlier, Ragdoll, waved at him as she quickly explained the house.

“Slytherin is the house for the sly and ambitious! We all hope you’ll enjoy your house for the rest of your Hogwarts years! Though, don’t think you can no longer be buddies with your other friends if the Hat Sorted them into different houses! There’s no barrier here!” she exclaimed as the other students clapped and cheered. 

Hizashi sat down at the table between an older student and a first year like him — Kan, his mind whispered from the earlier Sorting — and he looked up and over at the other Houses. He could see Aizawa at the back of the Hufflepuff, chattering with Tiger. He couldn’t see Tensei and Nemuri from his position, so he settled on paying attention to the rest of the Sorting. 

Seeing as how he was almost the last, there were only a couple more students getting called over before the Sorting ended. ‘ _ What’s next? _ ’ he wondered, looking over at the High Table where the teachers sat. 

There were many of them, each with their own unique looks, but what caught his eyes was the white hair of the Headmaster. Headmaster Nedzu sat in the center of the table, in a golden chair, eyes looking down at the students. For a split second, they shared a look that made Hizashi shiver as the man’s dark eyes seemed to look right into his soul. The Headmaster thankfully looked away, and Hizashi watched as the man got on his feet with a racing heart.

The Headmaster was smiling down at the students. Instead of traditional robes, he was in a white dress shirt with a greyish black vest, and his tie sported the Ravenclaw colors, blue and silver intertwining. 

“Welcome!” he said, his voice carrying through the room. “Welcome to another new year at Hogwarts — for our older students, it’s so wonderful to see you all again, and for the new ones, we hope to make Hogwarts an unforgettable experience!”

“However, important matters must be addressed first. I’m sure most of you have heard of the Eight Precepts.” 

Murmurs began across the hall, but Headmaster Nedzu raised a hand and hushed them at an instant. 

“Yes, it’s never pleasant to hear such news. However, I would like to firmly state that we, each staff member, seventh year student, and I, will do our absolute best to protect you all. And we  _ will _ .

“But, just for a safety measure, no student is allowed to leave the dorm rooms after 10:30 pm  _ sharp _ . Any later and you’ll be issued a warning. After that, we’ll discuss your inability to keep on time around a nice cup of tea.” Terrifyingly enough, Hizashi saw a few of the older students shiver in fear at that. 

“If even after that, you still insist to stay outside after hours,” the Headmaster continued, “then I’m afraid I will have to expel you for continued misbehaviour and risking harm to the student body, as well as yourself.”

He took a moment to let the message sink into their minds before continuing.

“Putting that aside, Hogwarts is meant to be fun and, above all, safe. You’re here to learn and become wonderful wizards and witches — if you are willing to comply with our rules and teachings, then we can guarantee you a future worth living.”

The hall erupted into applause, cheers and whistles filling the room, and Hizashi noticed Headmaster Nedzu puffing out his chest in what he assumed to be pride. His smile was genuine, and oh so sweet. He felt himself getting drawn in by it.

“The prefects and representatives will now hand out your timetables. Once that is complete, may the Feast officially begin!”

The prefects and “mascots” wasted no time and rushed to grab said timetables. Once Ragdoll came closer, Hizashi could see that they were charmed so that if you held it, it said who it belonged to. It was a charm Hizashi already knew, and he mentally grinned at the knowledge. Having a library the size of a museum certainly got useful at times, he supposed.

Once Ragdoll gave him his schedule, she offered him a playful wink combined with a friendly grin. She looked like such a Hufflepuff that Hizashi momentarily wondered if Ragdoll was the deceiving type. He quickly shook the thought away.

There was absolutely nothing to prove that Ragdoll wasn’t a genuinely nice person — besides, people were allowed to be in Slytherin  _ and _ be nice at the same time.

Hizashi carefully folded the timetable and stuffed it in his robe, and when he turned back to the table, every gold dishes from earlier were now piled with food. There was some of everything; from roast beef and pork chops to mashed potatoes and baked vegetables, along with so much more —  even his cup was filled with pumpkin juice. 

Everyone around him dug in, and Hizashi also wasted no time, pilling up his plate with all kinds of food. He never did get to eat freely back at home. He always had these fancy meals made by the house elves — not to mention all the excessive etiquette. Now, he was free to do whatever he wanted, and Hizashi smiled as he began to eat. It was all delicious! 

Dinner went past in a blink, and Hizashi let himself get lost in food and chatter. He hadn’t had this much fun since forever! He talked to a few older students and first years like him, and with Ragdoll too! They were all friendly and nice surprisingly, and Hizashi couldn’t be happier. And if he saw a few familiar faces out of the corner of his eyes, well no one needs to know. 

Soon enough, when all the food was cleared away and the headmaster wished everyone good night before dismissing them, Ragdoll’s voice rang out, gathering all the first years together.

She led the group through the castle, though instead of going left with the other houses, they took a sharp right turn to the dungeon. Marching down the step of stone stairs, they walked past the potion classroom, and go even further down to Hizashi’s amazement. How deep was this place? 

Finally, the students stopped in front of a portrait of Ragdoll herself. It was weird, seeing two version of the same women, with same green hair and eyes and oh god, even same personalities. 

The first years watched with open mouths as the two identical version of their house mascot bantered back and forth, before suddenly turning to face the students. They smiled, but the fact that the two did that simultaneously did not help in easing their nerves. 

And of course, they started talking together, each a sentence and so on. “Now, you need a password to get into the common room. And please do your best to remember the password, and don’t babble it to anyone else. The password will be changed every two weeks, and you will be informed of it right away, of course.”

Ragdoll, the real one, turned to the portrait and said aloud “Draconis”, and the portrait swung open to reveal an entrance. The students marched in, eyes looking around their new house for the next seven years.

The Slytherin common room was a long underground room with rough stone walls and a low ceiling from which round, greenish lamps were hanging on chains. A fire was crackling under an elaborately carved mantelpiece ahead of them, with carved chairs all around. 

Ragdoll directed the girls to their dormitory through one door and the boys to theirs through another. Hizashi followed his group, and found a series of doors, with three names on the front. Hizashi quickly found his room, and saw two names next to his. 

Sekijiro Kan and Masakazu Nishida, all written in an elegant cursive. He opened the door to see a nice room with three beds, the sheets and blankets in the signature silver and green colours. His trunks were also there, next to the bed on the left side of the room, and Hizashi made a beeline for it before flopped face down to the soft bed, letting out a groan. 

Behind him, the door clicked open again, and two other boys walked in. Hizashi looked up and found the kid he sat next to dinner and another one with black hair and a weird smile. These must be his roommates then. 

They quickly did a round of introduction, and he learned that Kan, or as he liked to call himself, Vlad, was a pureblood like him and very competitive, while the other boy, Masakazu  — or just Ecto, for some reason — was more stoic and serious. Hizashi prayed that they would be nice.

With most of his energy gone from the trip and the feast, Hizashi quickly changed into his pyjamas and flopped back onto the bed, making himself comfortable. He quickly fell asleep, this time with a smile on his face and nice thoughts floating in his mind. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We update every Wednesdays! Hope you all enjoyed this chapter!!


	4. Watch the clock

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aizawa, Nemuri, and Tensei finally meet their dormmates. Which goes better than they could hope!  
> First day of classes, and everything is going pretty well, let's hope they stay that way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOPE YA'LL WILL LIKE THIS NEW CHAPTER OWO  
> THE BETAS JUST MMMMMMMM BASICALLY DO MORE WORK THAN THE ACTUAL AUTHORS I SWEAR (SO SORRY THAT YALL HAVE TO DEAL WITH OUR MISTAKES ALL THE TIME) THIS STORY WOULDN'T BE AS WELL WRITTEN IF IT WEREN'T FOR THEM!! :000

Shouta fiddled with his newly-colored yellow tie as he followed after the other Hufflepuffs, trying his best not to hide behind Tiger. The tall walls seemed to stare down at him, and he couldn’t help but feel smaller despite knowing this castle inside out… It was a different perspective, being a student now rather than being the “Headmaster’s son”.

They walked with the Slytherins for a while, but the other House was moslty a way ahead of them. Because of this distance, Shouta couldn’t see Yamada, even though he craned his neck to look for him. 

He doubted Yamada would look back at him either, anyway. 

He didn’t particularly care whether Yamada saw him or not, though seeing someone smiling in his direction would be nice — not that annoying “Hufflepuff” smile that appeared too forced as the first years tried to prove their superior kindness over the others. 

 

_ How bothersome, _ he thought,  _ to fake it just to seem like you’re one of them… Tiger is a pretty good example that you don’t have to be a sweet summer child to be in Hufflepuff. _

 

Shaking the thought away, Shouta realised that they had made it to the basement, and that all of them were now standing in front of the Hufflepuff doorway, where a Tiger-shaped knocker was staring down at them firmly. 

Shouta had to force a smile down, remembering how his father had first decided to make the Pussycats represent the Hogwarts houses — because their friendship was aspiring and exactly what Nedzu wished for Hogwarts to become. 

The Pussycats didn’t allow themselves to be separated by these obscure notions telling them that, for some reason, just because one person was a Slytherin and the other a Gryffindor meant the two couldn’t be friends.

The two Tigers chatted for a bit, their faces neutral as they discussed, though the conversation didn’t seem to regard anything specific. It was probably just to show the younger Hufflepuffs that the Knocker was capable of talking back and holding a conversation.

The real Tiger finally turned around.

“This is the Knocker, and your ‘Gate’ to the Hufflepuff common room, so to speak.” His expression didn’t seem to change at all. “In order to open it, you must use the password. Please make sure to remember it; it will change every fortnight.”

With a small smile, Tiger turned back and faced the door, saying, “Sweet Cavity.”

Though it opened gently, some of the first years shuffled back anxiously. The older students however, supported them and gave them a small shove forward, chuckling as they led the way. The first years seemed to hesitate for a minute, before heading inside. 

Shouta merely followed the crowd. 

After making sure each new Hufflepuff was inside, Tiger stepped in. The door closed behind him. 

“Girls, your dorms are on the left, boys, you’re on the right. Your names are written on the doors.”

And with that said, Tiger dismissed them and went to sit on the couch. His posture was stiff, and his voice had been strict, but any lingering intimidation factor dissipated the second he pulled out a ball of yarn and a pair of knitting needles. Tiger already had quite a few rows done, too, though Shouta couldn’t quite discern a shape there yet. 

Under their curious eyes, Tiger just went on with his work, not bothering to pay them any mind. 

The first years watched him knit for a while — it was almost hypnotic, how elegantly he was working — before the older students began to head to their dorms, and the first years followed to theirs.

Shouta was excited, but he carefully kept his face blank as he looked around for his dorm. He looked up and found it — his name amongst two others, written in blocky, funny looking letters, as though he was a child. 

Which, technically, he still was. 

_ Toyomitsu Taishiro, Bakugo Masaru, Aizawa Shouta. _

Two other dormmates, that wasn’t too bad. Some students had gotten stuck in a room of four before, and that was never pleasant. Shouta almost grimaced at the thought as he opened the door.

There were three beds, and two of them were already occupied. The one on the left, closest to the door, was being used by a chubby, yet happy looking blond boy as some kind of trampoline while he talked excitedly towards the nervous looking boy sitting awkwardly on the centre bed. 

They turned towards him as they heard the door open, and the blond squealed. 

“HI! I’M TOYOMITSU!!!”

“I’m B-Bakugo…” the second boy mumbled.

Shouta pursed his lips, and he nodded towards them politely, muttering his own name as he headed toward the last bed. The yellow and black mix on the covers might have hurt his eyes had Shouta not already been used to such bright colours, but since he was, it created a rather pleasant atmosphere.

His owl suddenly screeched loudly, causing everyone in the room to wince. Even his siamese cat, Bean, hissed at the volume shift. Glaring daggers at Cinamoon. Shouta hurried towards both his pets, calming them down fairly quickly. 

“I didn’t know you could have two pets,” Toyomitsu mumbled, staring at his own fairly large owl. 

Bakugo licked his lips. “You can’t. Technically —”

“My cat will stay exclusively in the Hufflepuff common room or in our dorm,” Shouta interrupted. “She’s just a house pet, really.” 

He stroked Bean’s nape, letting her purrs soothe his mind. He ignored his dormmates’ looks, sure he’d explained himself enough, and took out some pyjamas. 

Toyomitsu gawked as he watched Bakugo follow suit. “You two are gonna sleep already? It’s so early, ya don’t hafta —”

“I’m tired,” Shouta cut him off, sliding out of his uniform and neatly placing it on the bedside table. “Besides, it’s late, you should be sleeping too.”

“It’s eight! Wait, it’s only —” Toyomitsu eyed the clock on the wall, squinting, “— eight thirty.” He snorted. “That’s crazy early! Lighten up a lil! Firs’ day of Hogwarts, let the night last!”

“First day of  _ classes _ is tomorrow.” Shouta scowled at him. “You should rest in order to be prepared for lessons.”

“Are ya sure ya ain’t a Ravenclaw?” Toyomitsu murmured sourly, but he changed into his pyjamas regardless. 

Shouta blinked.

Toyomitsu wasn’t… Chubby at all…? It seemed like he just wore layers upon layers of clothes, and that gave off the impression of a round stomach. They were eleven, so obviously there wouldn’t be any muscle definition, but Toyomitsu wasn’t just some skinny stick, clearly he… 

Shouta’s cheeks burned when Toyomitsu caught him staring, and the other couldn’t help but let out a loud laugh. 

“I get cold,” he explained. “Like, SUPER cold. My parents sent the Headmaster a letter explaining that I need extra layers of clothes ta keep warm and everythin’.” He grinned. “It’s always funny when people realise I ain’t fat. But hey! Nothin’ wrong with that, I like the extra tummy I get! Means I’m EXTRA cuddly!” 

He’d just put on the fourth shirt as he said this, and faster than Shouta’s eyes could track, Toyomitsu blasted toward him, picked him up off the floor — ignoring Shouta’s surprisingly loud yelp —  and twirled them around. 

“Come on Bakugo!” he shouted. “You too!”

“W-what —? Wait —!” The poor boy didn’t get a chance to speak before Toyomitsu picked him up as well and spun them all together. Unfortunately, the larger Hufflepuff tripped over a suitcase, and the three of them ended up crashing on the floor. They stayed quiet for a moment, before Toyomitsu burst into laughter, hugging the other two closer. 

“I dunno ‘bout you two! But I think I’m gonna enjoy the next seven years with ya!”

Shouta hid his face in Toyomitsu’s chest, fighting the growing blush and smile. It was only when they tucked into bed and slept for the night that Shouta finally allowed himself to smile.

He couldn’t help but mentally agree with what Toyomitsu had said earlier. They were an odd bunch, yes, but Shouta believed the three of them would make a fine group.

* * *

 

Tensei and Nemuri walked side by side, chatting as they followed the group of Gryffindors. Their new House headed in the opposite direction from the Slytherins and Hufflepuffs, leading the students to a series of magical stairs, overlooked by a multitude of curious portraits. 

“Watch your step!” Pixiebob warned. “The stairs are unpredictable. If you aren’t careful, you can easily get lost, or fall down.” 

The group continued, following the order and cautiously walking up the staircase. 

As they went up, they passed by many portraits who waved at them. A few of the students waved back, some shied away, and most just didn’t seem to care. 

Nemuri, of course, smiled and waved enthusiastically, while Tensei chuckled by her side, his eyes glistening with amusement. 

They eventually came to a stop in front of a portrait of Pixiebob. Portrait was putting it mildly, though, because it was life-sized. As soon as she saw the students arrive, she smirked at her real self. The two then turned their gazes at the students, and the real Pixiebob started speaking, her voice carrying over the gathered group.

“Welcome everyone! I, as you may know, am Pixiebob. Welcome to Gryffindor, the House that most values the virtues of courage, bravery and determination! Behind me is the entrance to our Common Room, and you will need a password to get in”

She turned around and spoke clearly, “King’s Pride ”. 

The portrait swung open. “Now, the password will change every two weeks, and the new password will be on the notice board. You should never, ever, share it with the other Houses.”

With that, the students walked in, and soon, everyone was standing inside the Common Room. The room was cosy and warm, a large fireplace crackling and casting light on the red and gold decorations. 

Nemuri vaguely noticed that most of the older years had already scurried back to their respective rooms, but the first years hung back.

“The girls’ dorms are on the left, and the boys’ are on the right!” Pixiebob said, waving toward a spiral staircase at the back of the room. “Names are on the doors, you should be able to find your dorm room easily. With that, have a nice night, and remember — classes start tomorrow, so don’t stay up too late!”

Nemuri waved at Tensei before she started running up the stairs, her eyes quickly scanning the doors for her name. She found it easily, just like Pixiebob had said. The room was on the first floor, a golden plate shining on the door. Her name and two others were written in cursive, so elegant it looked like something out of an ancient book.

_ Kayama Nemuri, Usagiyama Rumi  _ and _ Kiyohara Mitsuki. _

She had two roommates! Nemuri entered the room without hesitation, a smile and a greeting at the ready.

“Hello, new roommates!!” she declared, only to find that only one other person was in the room. She deflated a little, but perked up when she realized that she still had one roommate to greet.

Said roommate was a girl with a shock of blond hair. She was sitting on one of the three beds in the room, going through a suitcase, and she looked up when Nemuri entered, smirking.

“Hey!! Are you Usagiyama or Kayama?” she asked, abandoning her stuff to greet Nemuri.

“I’m Kayama Nemuri! Nice to meet you! You can call me Nemuri though!” Nemuri offered her hand to shake, putting as much strength and enthusiasm into the handshake as she could when the other girl accepted.

“Nice to meet you too! I’m Kiyohara Mitsuki — just Mitsuki, if you want.” Much to Nemuri’s delight, Kiyohara returned the force in the handshake equally, if not even more so.

Nemuri hurried towards the bed in the centre of the room, though still holding a conversation with Mitsuki. The blonde seemed friendly enough, yet held her own competitive flare that Nemuri couldn’t possible miss. “So~” Nemuri started, flopping onto her bed. “Who do you think is the best Quidditch team?”

Mitsuki smirked, then proudly stated, “Wigtown Wanderers, obviously.” 

Nemuri pursed her lips. “I can see why, but really the best one  _ has  _ to be Holyhead Harpies, it’s the only ‘All-witch’ team after all.” 

“I can see why,” the blonde mumbled. “They’re inspirational, sure, but I don’t pay attention to the gender of the team — it’s all about the skills!”

Nemuri blinked at that sentence, realising how contradicting it was for her to prefer an ‘All-Witch’ team, when she also couldn’t give less of a damn about her male best friend wearing a frilly dress.  _ Strange,  _ she thought.

“THE HOLYHEAD HARPIES ARE THE ONLY WORTHWHILE TEAM!” A loud voice boomed as another girl kicked the door open, a wild grin taking up half her face. The sudden aggressive aura caused Nemuri to flinch unwillingly, and she hoped to Merlin that this girl hadn’t noticed. 

“Those girls know damn well that we don’t need any men to prove we’re good! The lack of female players in Quidditch is revolting! GROW SOME BALLS YOU —!”

“WOAH NOW!” Mitsuki yelled, dragging the new girl in before slamming the door. “Scream all you want in the morning. Everyone else will be sleeping by now, or trying to. I don’t really wanna deal with a bunch of grumpy asses on our first night here.”

“I like the way you talk!” The girl grinned again, her fisted hands slamming against her hips. “Usagiyama Rumi! Please to meet you!”

Nemuri introduced herself again, as did Mitsuki, and Usagiyama quickly chucked her bags onto the last bed on the right of the room. Mitsuki started to put on her pyjamas, and Nemuri whined at her.

“Going to sleep  _ this _ early?!”

“Hey now, I may be a Gryffindor, but I still wanna succeed in school. Getting eight hours of proper rest is essential.”

Nemuri groaned, but she followed Mitsuki in getting ready for bed. Usagiyama stripped down to her underwear and a tank top.

Her lack of clothes had Nemuri’s cheeks burning. “Is  _ that _ what you’re gonna-?”

“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” Usagiyama snorted, purposely wiggling her hips. “Never seen a girl like this before?”

“WE’RE ELEVEN!”

“I fail to see your point.”

The bickering would’ve gone on for longer had Mitsuki not yelled at them to shut up, already curled into her bed. The two girls rolled their eyes at her before they too followed suit.

Her dormmates were a blast so far. Nemuri was pretty happy with them, though she couldn’t help but worry for Aizawa. She hoped he was fitting in with his dormmates as well as she was. 

Setting that thought aside, Nemuri snuggled in and closed her eyes. She couldn’t wait for morning to arrive.

* * *

 

Tensei smiled and waved at Nemuri for a second, watching her retreating back, before he walked the opposite way, joining the other male students. They walked towards the spiral of staircases, with doors neatly fitted at the top of each staircase and elegant names written on gold plates.

He soon found his own name, next to two others on a room somewhere near the end. On the plate and next to his were the names  _ Ryo Inui _ and  _ Higari Maijima. _

Tensei opened the door, walking into his dorm.

The gold and red colour scheme was expected, and the beds, curtains and almost everything else had the same bright hues. There were three beds, with luggages and trunks by their ends, and Tensei quickly spotted his own. 

Getting there and quickly opening the trunk, Tensei rummaged around until he found his pyjamas. He had also just grabbed some notebooks for tomorrow — just in case — when the door cracked open again. 

This time, a kid with orange hair walked in. He was thin and lanky, his blue eyes looking around before meeting with Tensei’s.

Tensei immediately stood and extended a hand toward his new dormmate, smiling brightly. 

“Hello! I’m Tensei Iida! Nice to meet you!” 

As the kid shook his hand, Tensei noticed how his hands were a bit... disproportionate, compared to the rest of his body.

“ Higari Maijima, nice to make you acquaintance, Iida-san,” he answered politely, before walking back to his own bed to search around in his trunk. Higari pulled out a yellow hat and put it on.

“Ah, Tensei is fine, really!” Tensei replied.

He watched Higari from the corner of his eyes as he walked back to his own bed again to continue his preparations. 

The two shared a comfortable silence, each minding their own business. At some point, Higari even pulled out a weird yellow toy, playing and tinkering around with it. Tensei tried not to stare, but his eyes kept coming back to it.

He was about to ask when the door opened again. Another boy walked in. He was blond, with scruffy hair that stuck out in every direction. Their eyes met, and the boy’s nostrils flared suddenly as he took a deep breath.

“RYO INUI!” he yelled, bowing deeply. His posture was a bit messy, and Tensei couldn’t help but notice that he seemed to be the opposite of quiet Higari — the thought made him wince.

_ Opposites attract — but not like this. _

Either way, Tensei strut forth, abandoning his bed again to offer a hand and his name. 

Ryo appeared absolutely ecstatic at this and eagerly shook Tensei’s hand — albeit a little  _ too _ eagerly. Tensei was sure his arm would have flown off had Higari not interrupted them. 

“Higari Maijima,” Higari said again, glancing up only for a moment before his eyes returned to his small toy. 

It caught Ryo’s attention and he rushed over, almost like a puppy. He climbed up on the bed, and the sudden shift in weight almost made Higari drop the item. 

“What… What is t-that t-toy…?”

Tensei blinked, Ryo’s speech sounded forced and… Odd. Higari only stared at the boy for a second, before once again returning to his item.

“It’s my toy, yeah.”

“Is’t… F-Fun?”

“Yes.” Higari smiled as he cleared more space for Ryo to sit. “I have another one, would you like to try?”

Tensei’s heart melted at the sight — usually if someone couldn’t speak very well, other people simply wouldn’t bother with them or would get annoyed. Higari didn’t appear to be judging though, as he offered another toy and let Ryo fiddle with it happily. 

Watching Ryo, Tensei was reminded of a dog. Ryo’s eyes sparked up with excitement as he eagerly held the item — with surprising gentleness, too — and he happily shuffled closer to Higari, who once again, didn’t seem to mind. 

Tensei was glad — he had been sure that the two wouldn’t get along, even if he had only known them for roughly five minutes. Yet here they were, bonding over a small mechanical toy. He grinned widely and got himself ready for bed, quickly reminding the two that classes began tomorrow and they’d need to be ready for it. 

He watched as the two snuggled in bed, exchanging goodnights. 

Tensei hummed quietly as he buried himself deeper under his covers.

_ Huh, I guess opposites do attract after all. _

* * *

 

Warm sunlight softly lit up the dorm room, the light crawling towards Shouta’s face slowly. He whined, burying his face into the pillow as he attempted to get away from it. 

He heard a chuckle and cracked an eye open so he could glare at the offender.

“Ya told us we should sleep early ta be ready for class, yet ya ain’t botherin’ to wake up?” Toyomitsu tugged on the covers, but Shouta held onto them tightly. He poked his head out only long enough to hiss at him, before diving back down under the covers again. 

Toyomitsu threw his head back and roared with laughter. “What are ya? A cat?”

“Maybe… Maybe we should let him sleep in…? He looks really… really tired…” Bakugo muttered, but Toyomitsu merely waved him off.

“Pfft, nah, if he’s like this every morning, we may as well get used to it now!” he exclaimed loudly. “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, Aizawa!” 

Yet when Shouta refused to stir — in fact, Shouta felt himself relax again, ready to drift off back into dreamland — Toyomitsu grinned sadistically.

“Al’ight, you asked for it.”

A loud shriek bounced off the dorm walls as Toyomitsu’s fingers found Shouta’s sides, wiggling mercilessly. Shouta’s limbs kicked and flailed, tangling in his sheets until he burst free, smacking Toyomitsu in the face in the process, causing him to cease his assault with a loud yelp. 

“OW! MERLIN, AIZAWA!” Toyomitsu yelled, holding a cheek that was beginning to turn red. 

Shouta wasted no time in scurrying off his bed after his fallen covers and crawling underneath them to hide.

“Maybe you shouldn’t tickle someone who’s sleeping...” Bakugo scolded softly.

“What’d ya want me ta do? Breakfast is super important!” Toyomitsu repeated, waving his arms around. 

Bakugo looked at the clock. “If you can get ready in ten minutes, we’ll still have thirty minutes of breakfast.”

Shouta groaned into the floor. They were too loud, and he didn’t trust Toyomitsu not to try to tickle him again, or worse — there was no way he’d be able to fall back to sleep now, not unless they left, and something told him they wouldn’t do that without him. 

He stood up, bringing the covers with him as he waddled off into the bathroom with his uniform. 

Toyomitsu snorted at his retreating back. “The literal embodiment of a cute, sleepy cat.”

Shouta desperately tried to convince himself his cheeks weren’t red in the slightest as he slammed the bathroom door shut.

The mirror, however, wasn’t so kind.

* * *

 

Shouta ended up walking to the Hall with both his dormmates, and despite being the last one up, he ended up leading the way towards the Hall. They found seats by the Hufflepuff table easily, and made themselves breakfast.

Shouta mildly chatted with Bakugo as he spread jam over his toast, while Toyomitsu chomped down on his food like he hadn’t eaten in weeks and talked with his mouth full. It wasn’t a very pleasant sight, but Shouta wisely kept his mouth shut. The last thing he needed was to come off as bratty on his first day.

“So, what classes do we have?” Toyomitsu gargled. 

Bakugo scrunched up his nose as bits of food flew out of Toyomitsu’s mouth, but he didn’t comment on it. “Well…” he started, taking out the schedule and eyeing it closely. “It’s Monday, so… Double Charms with the Gryffindors.” 

Shouta’s eyes widened. “With the — ?”

“ZAWA!!!”

A high pitched shrill grated on his ears — years of being Nemuri’s friend and he still couldn’t get used to her shrieks. 

Shouta didn’t get much time to think about it before Nemuri pounced on him, sending them both onto the floor with a loud thud. Toyomitsu laughed while Bakugo sent him a sympathetic smile.

“I can’t believe it! First day of Hogwarts and we get Double Charms together!!” She squealed, appearing none too concerned over the fact that she was currently squashing Shouta beneath her.

Tensei and Yamada followed soon after, looking a little flushed — had they been running? — as they sighed at Nemuri with fond exasperation.

“Nemuri…” Tensei tugged her off him, and Shouta groaned as the weight was finally off his chest. “He needs to breathe, believe it or not.”

The girl pouted at them while Yamada helped Shouta up with a large grin. He pulled a little too hard, however, which caused Shouta to fall back against his chest. Almost instantly, Shouta sprung back, appearing surprised for a moment —  Yamada shared his expression. Their cheeks grew a light shade of pink, and as the awkward atmosphere settled, Yamada cleared his throat.

“Sorry… You’re — You were lighter than I expected.”

“It’s… It’s fine I — Whatever…”

The four sat at the table; Tensei on the opposite side of Shouta’s, joining Toyomitsu and Bakugo, while Shouta found himself stuck between Nemuri and Yamada. 

Breakfast continued loudly — Shouta wasn’t too keen on the conversation, so he let his eyes drift around the Hall. 

That was where he caught sight of some curious looks sent their way.

It was fairly subtle, and he probably wouldn’t have noticed unless he was specifically looking. Most of the stares came from the Slytherin table — many of them appeared to be sneering at his current group. He made a guess that it was because of Yamada — a Slytherin was near two Gryffindors while sitting on the Hufflepuff table, Merlin forbid such an event occur. 

Shouta rolled his eyes.

“Are any of ya good at charms? I’d say that’s ma best subject!” Toyomitsu stated proudly, drawing Shouta’ attention back to his own table.

Bakugo shrugged, fiddling with his utensils. “I wouldn’t say I’m good… But…” He licked his lips. “It’s not a particularly difficult subject, I don’t think.” 

Nemuri suddenly fell quiet, awkwardly scratching her cheek as she tried to avoid eye contact. This only served to make her avoidance more obvious, though — not that it had ever been very discrete — and Toyomitsu leaned toward her, as far as the endless layers of clothes would allow him with a wide, friendly grin.

“I can help ya!” he insisted, already looking around for his wand. 

Nemuri waved him off. “It’s fine, I’ll just learn at everyone else’s pace.”

“I hope you don’t think everyone moves at snail’s pace,” Shouta interjected.

There was a moment of silence before Toyomitsu roared with laughter. He tended to do that a lot, it seemed — or at least, as far as Shouta had seen. Toyomitsu’s grin was almost addicting to watch, too, and Shouta couldn’t help but feel smug at making him smile like that. 

He blinked, perplexed at the feeling. Why on Earth should he care whether or not he made Toyomitsu smile? He seemed bubbly anyway, it wasn’t like Shouta was achieving anything spectacular. 

He found himself staring at him a bit more, almost lost in thought before Nemuri tapped his knee under the table. He looked at her, and immediately regretting doing so. 

She was giving him a knowing smirk, and Shouta was tempted to shove her face in the cereal bowl in front of her. Nemuri kept the expression as she chewed on her breakfast slowly, making it even more annoying to look at. 

He scowled. “Shut up, Nemuri.”

“I think you’d rather shut  _ him _ up with your lips —”

He shoved his schedule against her face, cutting her off. The sudden movement caused most of the people in their group to jump, then stare at them, confused. 

Yamada not so subtly pushed his own schedule away from Shouta. “Is this a thing you do, hitting people with schedules?” he asked, then yelped as he had to use his arm to block Shouta’s attack. “Dear Merlin — calm  _ down _ !!”

Shouta’s cheeks burned with embarrassment, and it only got worse when Toyomitsu whispered, “Daw, how cute.” He desperately wished death would arrive and take him away soon; he wasn’t willing to stay in this group anymore. 

Their banter continued until Tensei reminded them to hurry up and finish or they wouldn’t make it to their first class of the day on time. They rushed through the last of their food, picked up their bags and hurried to their Charms lesson — or DADA, in Yamada’s case, who had promised to tell them all about it the next time they met.

Shouta walked side by side with Toyomitsu, who had at some point grabbed his bag and was carrying it for him, claiming that “Your tiny body won’t be able to make it to the Charms class!”, even though the room was a ten minute walk from the Hall. 

Shouta didn’t particularly mind not carrying the extra weight, but he couldn’t help but feel insulted that he was viewed as weak. He was plenty strong, and he could probably take this egg shaped boy down in roughy five seconds.

He resisted the urge. 

Finally settling down inside the classroom, Toyomitsu dropped down his bag next to him, scooting close to the point that their thighs touched. Shouta ignored the physicality and took out his notebook, and a pen as Nemuri and Tensei sat by the tables across from them. 

Before they knew it, the door opened again and in walked Sir Torino, looking as grouchy and sour as he had when they had first met him.

It didn’t show on his face, but Shouta noticed Torino’s eyes softening when they landed on him. Only for a second, however, as they almost instantly hardened back into a glare.

“In case you all somehow forgot, I’m Gran Torino, but you will all address me as ‘Sir Torino’, and I don’t want any of you brats talking when  _ I’m _ talking in this lesson, ya hear?”

A few silent nods. 

Torino appeared pleased with them, and he cleared his throat. “Welcome to Charms, a class where we mainly learn about pronunciations and wand movements — but if any of you try to purposely use these spells in my class before I tell you to, you’re out and that’s final. This will be my only warning for the rest of your schooling.”

He didn’t wait for an answer this time, and merely levitated the textbooks towards them. In other schools, the students would have had to buy their own books. Not at Hogwarts, though, Torino explained, where Nedzu took into consideration the fact that some families weren’t financially able to afford the expensive texts in addition to the schooling fee. As he was fairly rich himself, he payed for classroom textbooks for each year. 

“Ruin these books, you’re paying for your own,” Torino grumbled.

A few Gryffindors winced at the sight, but each student in the class eventually opened their books, turning the pages at a steady pace. 

“Today’s lesson is going to be about the charm ‘ _ Wingardium Leviosa _ ’ — does anyone know what this charm is used for?”

A few uncertain hands rose, yet Torino’s eyes landed on Shouta, as if he was testing him. And just like that, Shouta was certain that all other teachers in the school would target him as the ‘Answer Machine’. Merlin forbid the Headmaster’s son didn’t know the answer.

He didn’t want special treatment… But he didn’t enjoy unfair treatment either.

“Aizawa, do you know?”

“It’s the Levitation charm, you use it to levitate items, or clothes…” he muttered, barely loud enough for Torino to hear. The old man scoffed.

“Correct — five points to Hufflepuff. You witnessed me using it when I gave you the textbooks. It’s a swish and a flick of the wand.” Torino showed them the movement again. “And you need to make the ‘Gar’ nice and long. Repeat after me, ‘ _ Wingardium Leviosa _ ’!”

The lesson seemed to last forever. Thankfully, as it was a double, they had a ten minute break in the middle that they could use to sit and chat in the class while waiting for the second half to begin. 

Shouta believed he did fairly well in this class. It certainly could’ve gone worse. Though his effort was a bit lackluster, he got the work done regardless. That was enough to please Torino, and apparently enough so that the old man didn’t target him for the rest of the lesson. 

As the class ended, he told his group to wait for him outside the class because he wished to ask Torino a question. 

Really, it was Torino himself who wanted to have a conversation with him, however, and once the classroom door closed, Shouta felt a hand land on his hair, ruffling it roughly. 

“Wha —  _ HEY _ !”

Torino snorted in amusement, then went over to his desk to tidy it up. “You did well for your first class,” he said, “though I would appreciate more effort put into my lesson.”

“And I’d appreciate not being targeted for answers, yet here we are,” Shouta retorted, crossing his arms.

“Watch your tongue,” Torino snapped. It was harsh, yes, yet it seemed almost fond in comparison to the way he had behaved with the other students. He sighed. “I don’t want to keep you for too long, but Aizawa, you need to put in the extra effort rather than just coast by. You know this, I’m sure. We both know Nedzu would be proud to see you succeed.”

Torino opened the classroom door without another word, indicating that the conversation has ended. Shouta wasted no time in grabbing his bag and rushing out of the classroom, but he couldn’t avoid Torino’s hand, which ruffled his hair one last time as he left. 

He understood where Torino was coming from, in a way — just because he was able to complete the assignment didn’t mean he had to put in the minimal effort for it, regardless of whether he was good at it or not. 

Torino was also correct in the fact that, yes, Nedzu  _ would _ be very proud of him if he did more than just  _ complete assignments  _ while in Hogwarts. Shouta didn’t wish to disappoint his father, not at all, but at the same time, he knew that if he was any other student, they wouldn’t pester him as much as they did now about putting more effort in his schoolwork.

Especially not after the  _ first class _ . 

Shouta hadn’t gotten enough sleep for this — if every other lesson was like this, he was sure to end up falling asleep in one. 

_ I wonder how Yamada’s doing… _ he thought as he caught up with his friends. 

Together, they set off for their break.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AIZAWA HAS HAD HIS FIRST CLASS AND TORINO IS JUST HNNNGGG SUCH A GRANDPA  
> HOPE YA'LL LIKED THIS CHAPTER- IF YOU DIDN'T THEN- SHIT MAN SORRY I GUESS  
> WE'LL DO OUR BEST TO CONTINUE WRITING THIS STORY :000
> 
> WE UPDATE EVERY WEDNESDAYS! >30


	5. Time for Class

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The lessons continue, it's going pretty good so far...  
> Until Yamada has to deal with his potions class.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOPE YA'LL ENJOY THE CHAPTER!!! WE JUST BARELY MADE IT FOR THE DEADLINE LMFAO!! PROCRASTINATION AT ITS FINEST

Nemuri entered the Great Hall alongside her group — though she was more leading them than walking next to them — and they shuffled to the Gryffindor table hurriedly. Nemuri dragged Shouta and Tensei by their arms as she sat opposite the two other Hufflepuffs that had decided to follow them — or rather, Shouta. She’d met them in the morning, yet hadn’t yet caught their names.

After they introduced themselves quickly, the conversation took off in many different directions at once, courtesy of Toyomitsu and herself. 

The atmosphere was warm and relaxed, but Nemuri couldn’t help but notice Toyomitsu’s eyes sticking on Shouta longer than she’d like. A protective, sisterly ember flared in the pits of her stomach, and Nemuri just barely managed to stop a glare. 

The arm around Shouta’s shoulders was inevitable, though. 

“He’s staring~” she teased, whispering in his ear. It wasn’t discrete — but then again, she wasn’t trying to be. Shouta flushed red, his cheeks so hot Nemuri could almost feel them radiating heat. 

The color change was so sudden that Toyomitsu watched him in concern. “You okay there, Aizawa?” he asked, putting down his sandwich for a moment. “Yer a bit red there… Need to see the nurse?”

“Sick already?” Bakugo’s eyebrows furrowed worriedly, and Shouta clicked his tongue and tugged Nemuri off him. 

“No, just a bit warm.”

Doubt crossed Bakugo’s eyes. “Are you sure —?”

“GUYS! OH MERLIN, GUYS!!”

A yell caught the attention of the majority of the student body as Yamada rushed into the Great Hall. He sat down next to Tensei, sprawling the top half of his body across the table, a wide grin plastered across his face. “You’ll never guess what!”

“What?” Shouta tilted his head, only for Yamada to aggressively shake his head, like a child.

“No! You have to guess.” 

“I don’t want to.”

“Wha —?! Come on!!! Just guess!”

“What’s the point?”

“It’s fun!”

“It’s pointless.”

“ _ You’re _ pointless.”

As their banter continued back and forth, Nemuri rolled her eyes and sat on the table. 

“As amusing as it is to watch you two flirt —” they both flushed “— I really wanna know what Yamada wanted to say.”

The blond grinned at her, then pulled out something from his pocket, looking super excited. Nemuri felt her anticipation grow as, at an almost annoyingly slow pace, Yamada pulled out — 

She felt herself deflate. 

“A pen?”

Yamada didn’t seem to falter — in fact, he almost seemed encouraged. “A pen!” he stated, showing it off. “Not a quill! Did you know they don’t use quills? Look, look!” Yamada took out a napkin, and scribbled on it, before flicking the pen around. “No excess ink! None! It’s so neat!”

They watched him continue to doodle for a few instants, waiting for the punchline. Eventually, Shouta raised an eyebrow. “Are you an idiot?”

The blond froze suddenly, his smile turning uncertain as he gazed back at Shouta. “I… I don’t really… Understand the question?”

Shouta was about to speak again, only to yelp loudly when Nemuri punched his shoulder roughly — this earned her a glare, which she brushed off. 

“Don’t listen to him, he’s a grumpy butt all the time. Have you never seen a pen before?”

Yamada brightened again, showing off his pearly white teeth. “Nope! My mother and father made me use quills, but it took  _ ages _ to learn how to use it without getting ink anywhere — and now there’s this ‘pen’ thing and it’s so easy to use?! I mean, it’ll take some getting used to because you hold it differently and the weight isn’t the same, but it’s still so much better?”

“That’s pretty cool, Yama —”

“YAMADA!” Tensei, who had been strangely quiet, suddenly yelled out, causing people around him to jump —  Yamada, especially, looked frightened. “You’re a  _ Yamada _ ! Oh Merlin, how could I  _ forget _ ?!” He bolted out of his seat and bowed deeply. “I apologize for my —”

“APAPAPAP!”

If that wasn’t enough to grab attention, Nemuri wasn’t sure  _ what _ would. Yamada waved his arms wildly, apparently not having noticed the stares yet. He grabbed Tensei’s shoulders, raising him up. “Please don’t... I’m just... I’m really not —” He took a deep breath for a second, then smiled. “I’m just another student, don’t… Don’t think I need special treatment, yeah?”

Nemuri didn’t really know of any ‘Yamada’ families, but from what she could guess, it was probably some kind of ‘pure-blood’ thing. She wasn’t too knowledgeable in this area. She had never really bothered to learn anything about Wizarding families, despite being surrounded by wizards and witches of different kinds. “What’s the big deal?” she asked.

Tensei’s jaw dropped, forgetting about Yamada for a moment as he fully turned towards her. His nostrils flared. “ _ What’s the big — _ Nemuri!” he yelled, pulling his hair in frustration. “The Yamadas are one of the most  _ powerful, rich, _ and  _ influential  _ magical families in the  _ world _ !” 

At that, Nemuri raised an eyebrow as she took another look at Yamada, who was awkwardly fiddling with his pen.

His posture was pretty firm, back straightened and legs practically tied together. It was very proper. Except for the fact that his personality was absolutely  _ nothing _ like what Nemuri would have expected from such a high-class family.

Excitable, energetic,  _ loud. _

_ Why is he so different? _ she wondered, pursing her lips at him. 

“Oh,” she said, because that was all she had to say.

“Oh?  _ Oh?!  _ Nemuri —!”

“I heard ya, alright? Chill…” She snapped, then walked up to Yamada, holding his shoulder in a friendly manner as she grinned at him. “He wanted to become our friend. We can’t judge him off his family’s actions, only what he makes of them.”

Aizawa blinked at her. “Since when are you so wise?”

“Oh  _ come on, _ let me say a cool line without you ruining it, just  _ once _ !”

The group burst into laughter, with the exception of Aizawa and Yamada. 

Hizashi watched the group as they played around and teased each other — just like a normal group of friends. He felt his heart flutter.

_ Friends… _ a smile tugged his lips.  _ So this is what having friends feels like. _

He was too busy basking in this new, nice feeling to notice Aizawa watching him curiously.

* * *

The twenty minutes left of their break passed faster than Nemuri would like, and she was dragged along by Shouta and Tensei to their next class.

_ Defense against the Dark Arts _ , Nemuri read on her timetable. It was like a switch had been flipped — now, Nemuri was the one dragging both of her friends there. 

They made it to the class with time to spare. Even Nemuri was surprised at her own speed, though she quickly ignored it as they walked inside and seated themselves, chatting quietly among themselves. 

Well, more like Nemuri, Toyomitsu and Tensei talked about Merlin knew what, while Shouta just simply laid down, looking bored as ever. Of course, Nemuri still tried to include her tired introverted friend into the conversation, but after a few unsuccessful tries, she just opted to let him be.

In a middle of her rant about Quidditch — Toyomitsu and Tensei only just managing to contribute with their own opinions — the door slammed open.

All of the students jumped and looked at the entrance. 

There stood a woman. Her long black hair was done up into a bun — though most of it still fell over her face — and she was wearing a white robe, with a dark blue, shirt underneath, and oh god; those muscles! 

Nemuri averted her eyes quickly as the professor walked to the center of the classroom, smiling brightly.

“Hello, students! Welcome to Hogwarts’ Defense against the Dark Arts course, or just DADA for short! I will be your teacher, and you can call me Shimura-sensei!” She greeted the students with a loud and cheerful voice that carried across the class. 

“In this class, you will be learning how to defend yourself against dark creatures, the Dark Arts and dark charms. I will also be teaching you both defensive and offensive magic, and when you lot are older, we can even take dueling lessons!”

At this, most of the class went wild, including Nemuri. She was bouncing in her seat, trying to fight off the excitement and remain still — and so did her friends. Only Shouta kept his composure, his bored face never changing. 

Or, at least, it didn’t until Shimura-sensei turned over and smiled at their group, when Nemuri noticed a slight smirk on his face. 

“Now, now! Quiet down, class! We won’t be jumping in the practical work quite so soon!” Shimura-sensei said, and she laughed as the mood in the classroom clearly deflated. 

“For this first lesson, we’ll only be doing the theory work, then throughout the week, we’ll slowly get more comfortable in memorising the spells and practising some wand movements.”

That wasn’t too interesting, in Nemuri’s opinion. So she focused her gaze on her teacher’s muscular figure — a thought sprung into her mind, causing her eyes to narrow. 

How come so many of the professors were in such good shape? Were they all warriors of some sort? 

Her eyes flickered towards Shouta.  _ He probably knows why, he’s lived with them for so many years… I’ll ask him at some point. _

And with that, Nemuri went back to watching Shimura’s figure as the teacher demonstrated, as promised, the spells they were going to learn this year.

Even though she had spent most of the class daydreaming in the end, she still felt like it had ended too quickly.

* * *

 

Hizashi’s charms lesson had finally ended. It had been fun, of course, though the succession of a double DADA lesson and a double charms lesson would leave anyone’s brain even a little fried. It was just the first day, after all, and the sudden information dump was a bit overwhelming. 

All he knew for certain now, was that he needed to get to Potions. There was a ten-minute break between each period, though at least five of those minutes was spent rushing to find where the next room was. Hogwarts was a large school, so really  _ all  _ those ten minutes should be spent with students hurrying to their next class.

Hizashi, for one, didn’t wish to be late to any class, ever. Besides, his… His friends — the word still made Hizashi’s heart flutter — would probably also want to make it to their next class on time. He didn’t want to make them think he was disorganized or something.

He tried to squeeze by many slow-paced students, and in his rush, he didn’t realize he’d hit a familiar black-haired boy until they were both spiraling towards the ground. The thud alerting a few of the surrounding students. Hizashi groaned and held his head, trying to soothe it from the impact. 

The second groan definitely did not come from his mouth. 

He looked down and yelped, scuffling to his feet as he offered a hand and about thirty apologies to Aizawa. The other boy didn’t seem too bothered by it, if only a little annoyed at being slammed into, and accepted the hand as he lifted himself up. This time, Hizashi was careful not to tug too hard. 

“I’m so — I’m so sorry oh Merlin that was so —”

“It’s fine,” Aizawa mumbled, dusting off his robes. Toyomitsu chuckled at him while Bakugou checked to make sure he wasn’t hurt. The three headed off quickly after that, presumably not wanting to waste any more time.

Hizashi hesitated for a second, before quickly catching up with them. “So uh...” He cleared his throat. “What’s your next lesson?”

Aizawa raised an eyebrow at his direction, before bluntly stating, “Potions.” 

Hizashi chuckled awkwardly. “Right, yeah, of course.” The rest of the walk there was silent, and fairly awkward if you asked him. He wanted to start up another conversation, but his words died in his mouth. 

After finally making it to their class, Hizashi ended up following Aizawa and sitting next to him rather than his Slytherin housemates. He briefly wondered if he was coming across as rude to them for choosing to sit with three Hufflepuffs, but didn’t get any more time as the teacher walked into the room.

His brown hair was loosely tied into a low ponytail, and the man’s face held a smug smirk as he purposely looked down at each child; his golden eyes pierced into Hizashi’s soul. 

The teacher remained silent as he waited for the last students to enter class, yet the second he closed the doors, his loud voice echoed in the room. 

“A pleasure to meet you all! I’m Kichirou-sensei, your potions teacher.” He waited for a moment, before continuing, “No matter what stage you’re at with Potions, don’t worry, I’ll be starting from the absolute basics.” 

He levitated the textbooks into everyone’s tables, opening them all at the first page. “I’m fairly easy-going, so don’t worry your pretty little heads. As long as you don’t disrupt the lesson, I’m alright with whatever you do.”

Hizashi skim-read the page, copying down some notes in his own book to read them later. From the corner of his eye, he noticed something colourful standing out against the dreary classroom, and when he turned to look, Hizashi almost chuckled. Aizawa had around ten different pens, all in different colors, and he was taking his time in highlighting the important sections. 

He wouldn’t have guessed that Aizawa was the type to use so many colours. 

“For today,” the teacher continued, “we will mainly be focusing on ingredients, no practical work until next week. For you, at least.” His wand waved over a few empty potion bottles, as well as jugs full of — 

Hizashi paled. 

Tiny bugs wriggled around, making small tapping noises against the glass. A few students grimaced, others just looked away or continued to take notes. Hizashi felt his heart pound in his ears, and his breaths turned ragged at the sight. 

The words he wrote suddenly bled together, and nothing was making sense — whether he was writing it or reading. The professor didn’t seem to notice his distress as he went on with the lesson, saying something about not mixing beetle horns with spider legs in some… Some potion Hizashi couldn’t even remember the name of. 

Dear Merlin, the bugs wouldn’t stop  _ moving _ . He bit his lip and desperately tried to focus on his teacher’s voice rather than the repetitive tapping of those disgustingly sticky legs. 

He felt a leg brush against his own, and he jumped a little at the contact. His eyes met Aizawa’s as the boy tilted his head towards him. 

Hizashi tried to give him a reassuring smile, but he’s pretty sure he only succeeded in grimacing.

Their teacher kept going on with his explanations, clueless.

Hizashi had no idea how long class even lasted for — as soon as he heard the words “class dismissed”, he was up and gathering his things. The only thing that stopped him for bolting for the door was Aizawa, who had kept sending him odd glances throughout the lesson.

Once Aizawa seemed ready to leave, however, Hizashi was right out of the door, speed-walking as far away from the room and its jars of creepy crawlies as he could. Hizashi shivered at just the thought of it.

“Hey, don’t walk so fast.” Aizawa caught up to him easily despite his words, huffing in annoyance.

“Sorry,” Hizashi said with a laugh, slowing down his pace. His laugh sounded weak and fake even to himself.

“What was up earlier?” the raven asked, getting right to the point. “You didn’t look so good in class.”

“Ah, that was just,” Hizashi hesitated, wincing, “I’m kind of… scared of bugs. Like, super duper terrified of them. I couldn’t even take notes earlier I just… yeah…” 

Dammit, it sounded even stupider out loud. He knew it was childish, his mother always told him to get over it, and he tried! He really tried to be brave and to just, crush the little things like his parents always did with no trouble. But just the thought of them made Hizashi visibly shudder, and he almost didn’t catch Aizawa’s next words.

“You can borrow my notes, if you want,” Aizawa said.

“I… Really?” Hizashi’s voice squeaked, and he felt his cheeks burn.

Aizawa didn’t appear to notice, as he just nodded. “It’s almost lunch,” he said. “You can go over them then.”

Hizashi grinned. “Thank you!”

Aizawa just ducked his end down and muttered, so low Hizashi almost didn’t pick up on it, “You’re welcome.”

* * *

 

If Shouta had known that offering his Potions notes to Yamada would lead to an impromptu study group taking over their part of the Hufflepuff table, he would have…

Well, he wouldn’t have  _ not offered _ , because Yamada had looked absolutely terrified — the kind of terror Shouta usually only associated with  _ those nights _ — but he probably would have found a way to be more discreet.

“Your notes are so detailed, Aizawa, they’re amazing!” Bakugou was saying, his stutter and shyness apparently forgotten in the face of  _ Potion notes _ .

Even Toyomitsu looked appreciative, and it did weird things to Shouta’s stomach.

Beside Shouta, Yamada was nodding enthusiastically, reaching over Shouta to point at the notes he’d spread over the table. “RIGHT?!” Yamada whisper-yelled. “And the colors really help visualize everything too!”

It was official, Shouta wished the floor would open up and swallow him — anything would be better than this. He should have let Bakugou and Yamada sit next to each other at least, that way he wouldn’t end up with Yamada constantly draped half over him whenever the other boy wanted to point at something on his notes.

(He tried to send Tiger ‘help me’ signs with his eyes, but the older boy just laughed and shot him a thumbs up with a wide grin.  _ Traitor.) _

Sadly, things could get even worse.

“THERE YOU ARE!”

Shouta barely managed not to flinch as Nemuri slid in front of him, almost sending Toyomitsu into the next student.

“I’m sorry about her,” Tensei said to the group, and on his face, Shouta recognized the awed horror of someone who’d spent an extended amount of time in Nemuri’s presence.

“It’s fine! I’m fine!” Toyomitsu replied, laughing.

“Of course you’re fine,” Nemuri retorted, rolling her eyes. “I wasn’t trying to hurt you.” She turned around again, and pouted at Shouta. “Have you been avoiding me?”

Shouta sighed. “No, but maybe I should have.”

“Shooouta,” Nemuri whined, her pout deepening. “Where were you? I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”

“Clearly not well, then,” Shouta replied dryly. “I’ve been here since our Potions class ended, and this is the Hufflepuffs table. Where else would I be?”

Nemuri fake-sobed, to Yamada’s fascination and Toyomitsu and Bakugou’s concern — Shouta was just too used to it to care much.

_ “So mean,” _ Nemuri whispered. Luckily, though, she got distracted by the food at that point, and she fell on it like a ravenous wolf.

Tensei, who had quietly sat down beside her, eyed the rest of the group, still bent over Shouta’s notes, with curiosity. “What are you doing?”

“They’re looking over my Potions notes,” Shouta tried to explain, but his voice was drowned out under Yamada’s excited, “Aizawa lent us his notes, they’re so clear and detailed!! Look!!”

To Shouta’s despair, Iida actually looked interested, and he leaned over. He whistled as he looked at the notes. “Wow, these are really good, Aizawa.”

“Thanks,” Shouta mumbled.

“Yeah, ‘Zawa’s always been crazy good at taking down notes,” Nemuri said, her cheeks puffy with food. She swallowed. “He actually  _ likes it _ .”

Iida blinked. “Nothing wrong with that, really,” he said, but it was clear that he found this somewhat bewildering.

“Never said there was,” Nemuri retorted, slurping noisily.

Iida pulled a face at the sound, but it seemed to help him remember where they were. His eyes narrowed. “You should put the notes away,” he said. “I don’t think Aizawa-san would appreciate you getting food all over them.”

“No, I wouldn’t,” Shouta agreed.

Beside him, Bakugou and Yamada seemed to flush identical shades of red as they hurried to give him back his notes.

Five minutes later, they were all eating — finally — and comparing notes about their mornings.

As they were starting on desserts, Yamada nudged him with a grin. “What do you have this afternoon?” 

Shouta shrugged — Yamada could hardly expect him to have memorized his timetable already. But Yamada persisted, and after a tired sigh, Shouta reached down and pulled the piece of paper from his bag.

He stared at the afternoon slot for the day in consternation. “Ugh,  _ English.” _

Yamada perked up, practically snatching the timetable from Shouta’s hands — not that Shouta tried to stop him. “REALLY?” Yamada shouted, his voice too shrill again. “ _ Neat! _ I love English! And we’re together again, that’s cool! See?” He pointed at the English class slot. “It’s Slytherin and Hufflepuff again!”

Shouta groaned, feeling like dropping his head in his hands and burying himself in his sleeping bag. “That’s great.” 

Yamada’s smile faltered. “I — What is it?”

Shouta bit his lips as he looked around, but their other friends appeared to be busy comparing the DADA and Charms teachers. He scowled, poking at the last bits of his dessert dejectedly. “I just… don’t like English, that’s all,” Shouta said.

“Oh!” Yamada’s eyes went wide. “Maybe I can help you, then,” he said hurriedly. “To pay you back for the Potions notes — I’m great at English, you know, and I —”

Shouta cut him off, feeling a headache building in his temples. “I’ll be fine. There’s no need to pay me back, really — this was a one time thing.”

“... I — Okay.”

Shouta bit his cheek — Yamada sounded oddly… down, all of a sudden.

Whatever. Shouta didn’t need his help. He could get by in English on his own just fine.

* * *

 

Shouta couldn’t get by on his own  _ just fine. _ The English lesson had lasted an hour, and they’d only  _ broached _ grammatical points Shouta knew he had already studied before, and yet he felt as though their teacher might have well been speaking in tongues.

He stared at his ineligible notes as the class slowly emptied and the teacher wiped the board clean, and his eyes absolutely weren’t burning.

“Hey… You okay?” Yamada asked him, leaning over him.

Shouta hid a scowl as he gathered his notes and pushed them into his bag, not caring if they got mixed up with other subjects or if the paper tore.

“Yeah, not judging but that looks… kind of bad?” Yamada continued.

“It’s fine,” Shouta mumbled as he stood up.

They were the last to leave the classroom, and Shouta was acutely aware of Yamada’s restrained energy practically vibrating next to him.

Shouta sighed. “Say what you want to say, Yamada.”

“Huh?”

Shouta rolled his eyes. “I can tell that you want to say something — you can say it.”

“Oh, right.” Yamada scuffed his shoes. “You know, I didn’t offer to help you with English because I thought you couldn’t do it or something. I just… I thought — you helped me, so I wanted to —”

“Fine,” Shouta replied. Arguing with Yamada sounded exhausting, and Shouta wasn’t in the mood for it. Also… at this point, he had to admit that any kind of help in making sense of their English homework was welcome.

“Fine?” Yamada asked, a cautious light in his eyes.

“Yeah, fine.” Shouta nodded. “I… do need some help with English, and I’d…  _ appreciate _ it if you could lend me some of your notes. If you still want to.”

It was almost funny, the way Yamada seemed to light up again. “Of course I still want to! And we can even do like, a study group — you can help with Potions, and I’ll help with English, and I’m sure the others can help with other subjects too. I mean, we haven’t had all of them yet, but I bet we won’t be strong  _ everywhere _ , so a study group makes sense, right?”

There was something almost… desperate about the way Yamada tried to cheerfully organize their study group — despite the fact that he hadn’t asked anyone yet, and that Shouta wasn’t sure he really wanted to submit himself to this if it went like it had earlier, at lunch.

Not that it had gone badly, of course, but Shouta valued his peace and quiet, and somehow, his new friends were very much none of those things.

But still, Yamada had a point. A study group made sense, it was  _ logical. _

And hopefully, the others would realize that this was a terrible idea, and the study group thing would never take off.

…

Right. Well, Shouta could hope so, couldn’t he?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOPE YA'LL LIKED IT OWO  
> AND WE HOPE YOU LOOK FORWARDS TO THE NEXT CHAPTER!! (Things will start getting more interesting in a chapter or two ;3)


	6. A time for thoughts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two weeks of Hogwarts, everything has gone quite well. Except recently, something strange is happening to the Library. 
> 
> What could it be?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CAN I JUST SAY I AM SO FUCKIN SORRY THAT IT TOOK SO BLOODY LONG TO WRITE THIS?! EVERYONE GOT IN A LITTLE BIT OF A WRITER'S BLOCK EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE PLANNED OUT EACH AND EVERY YEAR AND THERE'S LIKE FIVE OF US. LIKE WHAT ARE THE CHANCES-
> 
> HHHH I HOPE YOU ENJOY THE STORY, AND CROWNLESS QUEEN, YOU REALL A R E A QUEEN FOR MANAGING TO FINISH AND POLISH UP THIS FUCKING CHAPTER I LOVE YOU SO MUCH OMFG-
> 
> HOPE YA'LL ENJOY

Monday was much more exhausting that Shouta had anticipated, something that everyone in his house seemed to agree with on. Bakugou and Toyomitsu were leaning against each other as they desperately tried to stay awake and  _ not  _ sleep standing up.

Shouta groaned, rubbing his eyes gently as he followed his friends (were they friends?) into their shared dorm. The bed looked almost  _ too _ good right now. He’d barely shuffled into his pyjamas before he flopped right onto it.

He wasn’t entirely sure, but Shouta thought he felt someone pick him up and properly tuck him in.

  
  


When Shouta woke up, he knew for certain it wasn’t morning as he saw Tiger press a finger against his lips, signalling him to be quiet. Shouta blearily stared at him, confused, as he tried to force down the bubbling frustration at being woken up so early — or was it late?

“Follow me,” Tiger whispered, and as he trotted off, Shouta felt he had no choice except to get up and go after him.

A yawn escaped his lips, he rubbed his eyes sleepily — only for a hand to gently pry his own away and engulf them instead. The warmth and safety of Tiger’s hold didn’t help with his already exhausted state.

“Where are we going…?” His voice croaked as he spoke, Tiger smiled at him as they made it to the common room. Shouta was picked up, then was set down on Tiger’s lap — Shouta almost instinctively rested his head on Tiger’s chest as the steady beat soothed him further.

A hand combed through his messy hair, and Shouta fought back a yawn.

“Sorry for waking you up,” Tiger murmured softly against his temple. “I wanted to show you something. This will only take a minute, I promise.”

Out of the four pussycats, Tiger was the most physically affectionate. At least in secret. He tended to baby Shouta whenever he got the chance, and Shouta would like to say he didn’t like it, but… Well…

“What is it?” Shouta asked, forcing his eyes open to look at Tiger, who shifted a little to reach for a box. He would have tried to sound annoyed, but well, that required more effort than he was willing to spare right now.

“Here.” He handed the box over to Shouta. “A gift for making it into Hufflepuff. Everyone here is super proud of you, Kitten.”

Shouta flushed at the nickname. He hated how much he actually  _ liked _ it. It made him feel safe, especially coming from such a big brother figure like Tiger. Protected. It let him know that everything would be  _ okay.  _

He shook his head and slowly lifted the lid. His breath hitched at the sight.

A yellow scarf — a very  _ long _ yellow scarf — was placed neatly inside the box. Shouta brushed his knuckle against the soft material, before he picked it up and put it on. The material fell loosely around his shoulders; he tried to convince himself he wasn’t already in love with the item.

His gaze snapped to Tiger.

“Did you make this?” he whispered breathlessly, and at Tiger’s nod, he ducked his head into the scarf and wrapped his arms around Tiger. “Thank you,” he mumbled, heartfelt, against Tiger’s chest. 

Shouta felt a chuckle rumble through Tiger’s chest as he wrapped his own arms around Shouta’s waist.

“Anything for my Kitten.” Another kiss on Shouta’s forehead. “Come on, let's take you to bed.”

“Few more minutes…” he murmured, enjoying Tiger’s warmth and not quite ready to let go yet.

Another chuckle, then a hand cradled the back of his head. “Of course, Kitten.”

 

* * *

 

The next two weeks of school were… interesting, to say the least. Classes had their ups and downs — Nemuri in particular disliking practically all of them, except Flying. They had had a  _ triple _ Flying lesson on Friday afternoons, and while it had its long breaks, by the end of it, Shouta had to be carried back to his dorm because he’d basically collapsed on his broom. 

Unlike her perpetually tired friend, Nemuri certainly wasn’t complaining about it, but she  _ did  _ find it frustrating that Flying classes were on Fridays  _ only. _

There was also a variety of teachers, some that Shouta had only recently met. Meaning he didn’t have any type of bond with them, unlike some of the older teachers.

Though, there was  _ one _ teacher, who’d been here for a while, that Shouta never actually connected with that much. Nana was a great Professor, of course, but despite her friendly personality, she was quite… Detached. Especially from all the students.

Shouta in particular, it seemed.

He shook away the thought. No teacher at Hogwarts was obligated to treat him like a prince — he’d actually rather they didn’t. Even so, he couldn’t help but find it a little odd that she tended to avoid him, though not because he was the “Headmaster’s Son”. He wasn’t actually sure  _ why _ he was the  _ only one  _ she tried to actively avoid.

His attention shifted back to his… Friend group. They had all gathered around a table at the Library, and books and notes were sprawled across it messily.

Shouta didn’t know whether he could consider them a friend group, though they certainly weren’t strangers by this point.

“It’s not fair!” Yamada yelled, only to be shushed by almost everyone in the Library. He ignored them as he stared at Shouta’s notes with a pout. “They’re so neat… So  _ easy _ to understand. How do you have the patience to write in all of these colours?!”

“First of all,” Shouta flipped through a page “I highly recommend you lower your obnoxiously loud voice before we get kicked out.”

Yamada bit his lip, looking like he wanted to say something but choosing not to. Shouta tried to ignore the guilt that slithered into his chest at Yamada’s kicked puppy face.

“Secondly, I’ve been writing notes like these for years. I’m used to it, so I write fairly quickly. Besides,” he pointed at Yamada’s notes “That basically looks printed.”

“It does!” Nemuri suddenly sprung up from her seat. They all jumped, certain that she had actually fallen asleep during the study. “It’s like you just took it to a computer, typed it in, and BAM, printed!”

Yamada looked worried.

“What’s a computer?”

Shouta sighed. “A technological device, usually used by Muggles but it is steadily becoming popular with wizards too. Though purebloods… don’t enjoy it, I’m guessing?”

“Ah.” Yamada chuckled weakly, rubbing the back of his neck. “No, not really… We’re more into tradition and whatnot.”

“You didn’t even know what a pen was, Yamada.” Nemuri scoffed. “That’s  _ ancient  _ tradition.”

“Have any of you been worried for Miss Morona?” Tensei cut into the conversation, changing the subject and causing Yamada to send a downright grateful look that Shouta was pretty sure he hadn’t meant for anyone else to catch.

Tensei rested his chin on his palm. “She’s been restless recently, always muttering under her breath.”

“I noticed that too, actually,” Bakugo murmured. “I went to ask for a book, and she glared at me then started mumbling something about… Being careful.” 

“Well, that ain’t  _ unusual… _ ” Toyomitsu scratched his head. “She’s always glaring at students who forget to bring books back, maybe there’s been a few cases of that?”

They contemplated it for a while longer, before deciding to return to studying. It lasted only for another thirty minutes, though, as Shouta began to grow tired and chose to snap his book shut. All of their eyes snapped towards him at an instant.

“I’m tired.” He spoke bluntly. “I think that’s enough studying for me.”

Nemuri groaned in relief and stretched her arms over her head; her bones popped.

“Oh!” She gasped. “Oh, that felt  _ good! _ ” Nemuri sighed as she rested her head back onto the table.

“You’re acting as if you actually  _ studied. _ ” 

“Shouta!” Nemuri gasped. “I was  _ too _ studying!”

Shouta arched a sarcastic eyebrow. “Oh yeah? About what?”

“F-Flying techniques!” Nemuri replied, stuttering as her cheeks went red.

“Anything relevant?”

“Flying’s perfectly relevant,” she retorted mulishly.

Shouts rolled his eyes, before he packed up his things and slid off his seat. “I’m heading to my room, I’m probably gonna sleep before dinner starts.”

“Sleep?!” Toyomitsu sputtered, a few students around them shushed him. “It’s only six!”

“Have you  _ met _ me?”

“He’s got a point, Toyomitsu…” Bakugo murmured, before he also slowly began to pack up his books. “I’m tired too, actually. We’ve been working all day, I kind of want to nap now. I think I’ll head for a snack first though.”

Though the group chatted amongst themselves, Shouta paid them no mind as he dragged his feet out of the library.

Or, that had been the  _ original _ plan, until he felt a hand on his shoulder. He tensed and whipped around — only to sigh in relief as he saw Morona. He cast his eyes back toward the group, but they seemed content enough to keep walking.

Seeing them leave without him so easily left an oddly sour taste in his mouth for some reason, but Shouta forced himself to ease out of his scowl when he turned his attention back to Morona.

“I didn’t mean to scare you…” she whispered, her eyes darting around the library nervously. There were a few students milling about, and Morona tugged him toward an less busy section.

“What do you need?” Shouta asked, frowning. His mind couldn’t help but wander back to his friends’ earlier words.  _ Miss Morona’s been acting weird, _ they had said.

Well, Shouta could certainly see it now.

“Have you, ah… seen anything? That doesn’t look right?” she hesitated.

Shouta narrowed his eyes in suspicion. “Why?”

“Is that a no?”

Shouta stares at her for a moment longer, before he sighed and shook his head. “No, I haven’t.” She grunted at that, he added. “But I  _ can  _ keep an eye out.”

“Oh—“ she fiddled with her hands. “Oh no, ah, you don’t really need to—“

“It’s fine.” He cut her off. “If I see anything weird, I’ll tell you.” 

He ignored her weak attempts and trying to get him to stop. Morona was a little awkward at times, and didn’t have much of a backbone when it came to asking for favours. Or stopping them. 

But if someone messed with her library, she tended to get more than a little aggressive.

“What am I looking for, exactly?” Shouta asked.

“I don’t— Hng!” Her tail flicked in agitation. She wasn’t exactly human — more of a humanoid lizard, of sorts. Which helped when she needed to get some of the books placed on the taller rows of the bookshelves. She could easily climb the walls with her sticky hands and feet. “You really don’t need to concern yourself, Aizawa…” 

“But I want to.”

“But I—“ Morona stopped. Her posture deflated, she massaged her temple. “No matter what I say, you aren’t going to listen.”

“I really won’t, no.” Shouta admitted without a speck of shame. Morona sighed, cursing herself under her breath. “So, what am I looking for?”

“I… I don’t really know, Aizawa.”

He raised an eyebrow at her, signalling her to continue.

“Books are missing from my library and… I don’t remember anyone asking for those particular ones.”

That alerted Shouta quickly. Morona had a near perfect memory when it came to her library. She knew exactly where each and every book was placed, and every face of any student who asked to take one out. It was an extremely useful yet rare ability, one that he’d only seen with Morona, and Ollivander. 

“So… I just wanted to know if you’ve seen any…”

“Have you told D—“ Shouta cut himself off, biting his tongue. “Have you told Headmaster Nedzu?”

“I don’t really want to concern him over something so small just yet… Bare in mind, Aizawa, it could just be first years not having known they should ask for permission, or someone simply forgot. They’re both possibilities so… Um…”

“Yeah, I know,” Shouta muttered, then looked up to lock eyes with her. “But if it isn’t something like that, what are you going to do?”

“If you don’t return that book quickly, Mister Aizawa, I’m afraid I’ll have to inform the Headmaster of your incompetence,” she replied swiftly, straightening her back as she stared down at him with a glare. 

Shouta almost jumped at the sudden aggressiveness in her tone, feeling a flash of fear and confusion — before he noticed a few students walking by, glancing at them.

“I… Yeah.” His cheeks burned brightly at the false accusation, his gaze fell to the floor. “Sorry, I’ll get it to you soon…”

The students giggled at the conversation, before walking off again. 

Shouta whined. “Why did you have to make me look unorganised?”

“I’m sorry…!” Her shoulders hunched again. “It was the quickest thing I could think of on the spot!”

“It’s… It’s fine.” Shouta sighed. “But, yeah… I’ll keep an eye out. Or two.”

Morona smiled shyly. “As long as you stay out of trouble. And, ah, don’t mention any of this to your dad… He’ll kill me.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll have some time to run as he’ll be busy killing me first.”

They both laughed quietly. Shouta really liked Morona, she was soft spoken like himself and properly focused on her job. It was a shame that they never spent much time together, Shouta would’ve liked to get to know her more.

With that said and done, Shouta tightened his grip on his bag, before he set off and out of the library.

 

* * *

 

The way from the Library to the kitchen was not long as Masaru made his way to get a snack from the house-elves. They were always too nice, too fast and happy to please people, but hey, they seemed to enjoy what they did, so who was he to argue? 

Just as he rounded a corner that would lead to the corridor with paintings, he spotted a blond girl in red and gold looking around the place, as if she was lost. Ever the Hufflepuff, Masaru walked closer to her and cleared his throat.

“Aah… Do you need help?” he asked, shuffling his feet awkwardly.

The blonde startled, jumping at the sound before she quickly turned back to face Masaru.

“Oh, hi,” she replied. “I didn’t see you there!” She chuckled a little bit awkwardly, but her wide grin more than made up for it.

Masaru noticed that, even though they looked the same age, the girl was just slightly taller than him; he winced. “S-sorry?” he replied, looking down.

The girl laughed again. “No, no, don’t worry, it’s fine, really! I should probably have been paying more attention to my surroundings.” She grinned, her voice going low like she was sharing a secret. “But you know,  _ Hogwarts.” _

Masaru didn’t know, actually, but he nodded anyway — it felt like the right thing to do.

“I’m Kiyohara Mitsuki, by the way!” the girl said cheerfully. She smirked, winking. “But  _ you _ can call me Mitsuki.”

“I’m… Bakugou?” Masaru replied, wincing as his answer came out as more of a question than anything else. He wasn’t sure he felt comfortable calling this girl he’d just met by her first name, and he  _ definitely _ wasn’t with letting her call him by his first name, but at the same time Masaru felt awkward having her call him by his last name when she had told told him to call her Mitsuki.

He sweatdropped — why did this have to be so complicated?

“Nice to meet you Bakugou-kun!” Mitsuki replied, steamrolling right over Masaru’s issues with another grin.

“Nice to meet you,” Masaru replied.

There was a moment of awkward silence, where Masaru considered trying to figure out if maybe he couldn’t activate his accidental magic or something to help him disappear into the ground, before Mitsuki spoke again.

“So,” she said, still smiling, “you said something about helping me?”

Masaru’s head jerked up, and he nodded vigorously. His stomach felt odd, like it was full of wriggly worms, and his heart started pounding in his chest, but he was a Hufflepuff. Helping people was what he was supposed to be good at.

“Yes,” he said, nodding.

Mitsuki let out a relieved sigh. “Awesome!” she cheered. She dug through a bag that Masaru had somehow missed, pulling out a large tome.

Masaru blinked at it for a few moments — it really was enormous — before his eyes flickered back to Mitsuki.

She seemed to read the unasked questions in his eyes, because she chuckled. She patted the book’s cover once, before tucking it back into her bag. Absently, Masaru wondered if maybe it was charmed to be weightless and bottomless — he hoped so, for her sake.

“I borrowed this from the library a few days ago,” Mitsuki explained, sheepishly tucking a couple of loose strands of hair back behind her ears. “I meant to give it back today, but I forgot, and if I don’t bring it back before the Library closes, Morona will have my head.”

Masaru winced. From what he’d heard from the older students, Morona had always been rather protective of her Library and books — they were  _ horror _ stories he was about… eighty percent sure were false about what she had done to the last students to bring her back a damaged copy of a book they’d borrowed, and even odder tales about  _ late fees  _ — but she had gotten worse this year.

Masaru had no idea why, but he wasn’t too keen on tickling that particular dragon. “So… You were trying to get to the Library then?” he asked.

Mitsuki nodded, an odd mix between a scowl and a pout etched on her face. “Duh,” she said. “Of course I was.”

Masaru nodded. “Right… And you’re aware you’re kind of far away from it right now?”

This time, Mitsuki definitely scowled, and she kicked the wall. It made a dull noise, and Masaru would have sworn he’d seen a flash of pain in Mitsuki’s eyes, except that the girl acted like nothing had ever happened. She didn’t even flinch as she put her weight back on that leg.

“I know,” she whined. “But the castle is so great that I got distracted, and next thing I knew, I was here and not  _ there _ , and that would be fine except I don’t really know where  _ here _ is!”

Masaru had to bite his cheeks so he wouldn’t chuckle — something told him Mitsuki wouldn’t really appreciate it.

He frowned. “Are you lost then?”

Mitsuki scowled again. “I’m not  _ lost,” _ she retorted bitingly, crossing her arms. “I’m just… temporarily misplaced. That’s all.” She fluttered her eyelashes at him. “I  _ could _ use some help in getting to the Library though. Just because it’s more fun not to go alone.”

Masaru nodded slowly. “Right. Because you’re not lost?”

Mitsuki nodded, a cheerful smile pasted on her face once again. She suddenly grabbed Masaru’s arm and started dragging him further into the corridor.

Masaru yelped. “What are you doing?” he asked. He tried pulling his arm free, but Mitsuki’s hold on him was deceptively strong, and eventually, he had to resign himself to not getting out of it.

Mitsuki barely paused as she replied, “You said you’d help me get to the Library!” 

“I never — I didn’t say that!” Masaru sputtered, confusion and offense overcoming his shyness for a bit.

“So you won’t help me get to the Library then?” Mitsuki pouted. “And here I thought I had found myself a knight in shining armor!”

Even though her words hardly made sense, Masaru found that his cheeks started to burn anyway. “Of course I’ll help you get to the Library,” he replied immediately, seeing only too late the trap Mitsuki had laid out for him.

He dropped his head as Mitsuki cheered. She pulled harder, and he almost tripped.

It took him a moment to regain his bearings, but once he did, he stuttered out a shy, “We’re going the wrong way…”

Mitsuki froze. “Really?”

Masaru nodded, pointing sheepishly in the opposite direction. “Yeah, we need to go that way.”

Mitsuki huffed loudly as she spun around. “Well, lead the way then!”

“Aah, sure.” Masaru chuckled weakly, but he did start doing just that.

The Gryffindor was… weird, he decided as they walked. He’d hoped they’d be able to do so in silence — mostly because he didn’t really know what to say — but Mitsuki seemed determined to drag a conversation out of him, and she peppered him with questions.

Some were alright, and he didn’t mind answering them, like when she asked about his House and how he was finding it, and did he think there really was that big a difference between the Houses?

(No. No, Masaru didn’t think there was much of a difference between the Houses at all, except maybe for the fact that most Slytherins seemed to be oddly content to remain separate from the rest of the school. And yes, Hufflepuff was great.)

Other questions, however, were less easy to handle, and it was almost enough to make him wish the path to the Library was shorter.

“By the way, has anyone ever told you how cute you are?” Mitsuki asked cheerfully, right after a question about the Hufflepuff Common Room that he  _ wasn’t answering. _

Masaru sputtered, and to his horror, he could feel his cheeks starting to burn. “I — erm, no?”

Mitsuki pouted. “A shame,” she said. “They really should.”

Masaru sweatdropped. “Thank… you?” To his greatest relief, he saw that they’d finally reached the Library, and he redoubled his pace. “We’re almost there!” he shouted in a voice that was definitely too high-pitched.

Mitsuki only chuckled as she followed. “Thank you!” She grinned, her tongue peeking out between her teeth.

“You’re welcome!”

Mitsuki took a deep breath. “Well, wish me luck, then,” she said. She was looking at the Library doors like they were the entrance to some cursed place — not entirely inaccurate, actually, Masaru thought — and Masaru couldn’t help but laugh a little.

“Good luck,” he replied.

He was very relieved that she didn’t ask him to go in with her, because he probably would have said yes, and there was very little Masaru wanted to do less than to see the Librarian again today.

Mitsuki waved at him before she went in, and Masaru smiled and shook his head before heading back.

He meant to go to the kitchens, as he’d first planned, but as he walked through the corridors, the clock struck seven, signaling dinner time.

Masaru faltered, gaping. He was suddenly very glad nobody was there to see him like this.

He hurried over to the Great Hall after a beat, willing himself to stop blushing. He wasn’t quite sure it worked, but at least by the time he got there, he could blame it on the exercise.

He found his friends already gathered at the Hufflepuff table, though he thankfully wasn’t the last one to get there.

Toyomitsu waved at him cheerfully. He had half stood up as soon as he’d spotted Masaru coming, and Masaru had to duck his head as he speedwalked to the table.

“We saved you a seat!” Toyomitsu said, gesturing toward the empty space in front of him. Masaru’s eyes wandered to Aizawa, who sat next to it, but the dark-haired boy just kept chewing sleepily.

He chuckled nervously as he sat. “Thanks,” he muttered.

“No problem!” Toyomitsu, his smile so bright it was almost blinding. Aizawa just grunted, but Masaru chose to take that as a “You’re welcome” too.

It was clear that his dormmates hadn’t been there for long, as their plates were still mostly full, and Masaru wasted no tie in piling up food onto his own plate. After all, he’d been pretty hungry earlier, which was why he’d parted from the group when he had, but he had never gotten the chance to get that snack he wanted.

“So, what kept you? House-elves try to adopt you again?” Toyomitsu asked, a playful grin on his lips.

Masaru chuckled, running a hand through his hair awkwardly. “Ahah, no — you know they save that for Aizawa here,” he replied with a nervous chuckle.

Aizawa shot him a dark, ominous look at that, and Masaru would have shrunk in on himself if not for how difficult it was to find the other boy as threatening as he once had when Aizawa was still dwarfed in the yellow scarf Masaru knew for a fact Tiger had spent the last weeks knitting.

He still looked away sheepishly, scarfing down some chicken before answering his friend. “I didn’t actually get the chance to go to the kitchens,” he explained.

Even Aizawa perked up at that, though his reaction wasn’t anywhere near as obvious as Toyomitsu, who started practically vibrating in his seat.

“Ooh~! What happened?”

Masaru frowned, chewing more slowly as he tried to properly phrase the oddness that had been Mitsuki.

“I… met someone?” he finally said with a wince. “I think they were lost. They were trying to get to the Library,” he explained, “but they were really close to the kitchens.”

Aizawa arched an eyebrow — which, Masaru got it, the two really weren’t that close at all — and Toyomitsu laughed loudly.

“Wow,” Toyomitsu said, reaching above the table to mock-punch Masaru’s shoulder. “So you played the valiant hero then?”

This time, Masaru definitely felt his cheeks heat up. “I just showed her the way, that’s all.”

Toyomitsu’s grin widened. “Oh, so it was a ‘her’ then,” he sing-sang. “And does ‘her’ have a name?”

It was official, Masaru wished he could just die. “I — It was, erm, Mitsuki?”

Toyomitsu nodded, still grinning widely at that. A quick look to the side showed him that Aizawa was smirking into his scarf despite his apparent nonchalance, and that not help would be coming from him.

“First name basis, huh?” Toyomitsu said, still nodding. “Nice.”

“She’s a Gryffindor, right?” Aizawa asked suddenly. It was so sudden, in fact, that Masaku startled, his knife scraping loudly against his plate. “I think Nemuri mentioned her name, saying she was one of her dormmates.”

Masaru shrugged helplessly. “I… guess? She’s a Gryffindor for sure, and a first year,” he had learned that much while they had talked, “but I wouldn’t know who her dormmates are.”

Toyomitsu hummed. He smirked. “So… Did you like her?”

Confused, Masaru frowned. “I mean… She was nice? I think?” For some reason, his cheeks were heating up again, and he couldn’t stop thinking about Mitsuki saying  _ ‘Has anyone ever told you how cute you are?’ _ .

Toyomisu just stared at him knowingly, wiggling his eyebrows, and Masaru started to shuffle nervously in his seat. He tried to eat again, but his throat felt all closed up, and the food tasted dry and bland in his mouth. He drank some water instead, hoping it would save him from talking.

It didn’t — but something else did. Toyomitsu was opening his mouth again — no doubt to make another mention to Masaru  _ liking _ Mitsuki — when Aizawa cut him off, glaring darkly.

“Drop it,” he said. His tone was much lower than it had been before, almost a growl, and there was no hint of Aizawa’s characteristic tiredness to it. Masaru was startled by it, and evidently Toyomitsu was too, because his mouth fell shut with an audible click.

Toyomitsu turned toward Masaru with a slightly sheepish grin. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

Masaru shrugged, smiling back. “It’s fine,” he mumbled.

Aizawa’s black eyes flicked between the two of them before he huffed and curled back in on himself, letting out a yawn.

Masaru exchanged a confused look with Toyomitsu, and they both returned to their food in relative silence, the subject of Mitsuki well and truly dropped.

Masaru couldn’t really help but let his eyes wander back to the Gryffindor table. Mitsuki was never looking at him when he did, but he had to wonder if maybe she also looked his way when he wasn’t looking.

 

* * *

 

Hizashi sat ramrod straight on his bed, eyes staring vacantly down at his lap. His stomach churned, and he couldn’t decide if it was because he might have eaten too much or not enough.

It was weird that he couldn’t tell, right? It had to be weird.

He had ended up eating alone at the Slytherin table that night. In retrospect, it had been stupid of him, but he’d wanted to try to get along with his housemates a bit better. He didn’t really want to be known as that kid who shunned his own House, after all.

It had backfired, though. Badly. Hizashi had barely been able to stomach the clearly pureblood-biased talks that had gone on all evening — talks that had been way too reminiscent of things he’d heard at home — and in the end, he’d spent more time tuning his Housemates out and staring at his friends in other Houses than trying to connect with anyone in Slytherin.

It had been a stupid decision from the get go, and Hizashi had realized it nearly the instant he’d sat down at his table.

But by then, it had been too late to turn back, to change things. How would it look, if he sat with his own House for five seconds before shifting to another House?

Pitiful, that’s what it would look like.

So Hizashi had stayed.

Besides, it wasn’t like his friends had needed him. Or at least, it hadn’t looked like it — they had certainly seemed happy enough without him.

_ “Ouch!” _ Hizashi hissed, startled out of his thoughts by a sharp pang of pain.

It was his bracelet — in his distress, he’d been playing with it, and he must have twisted it a little too much, pulling at some hair on his forearm and pulling at his skin. He let go of it, running a thankful caress over the cold metal. It had just snapped him out of… whatever that was, after all.

Hizashi sighed, shaking his head as he slipped the bracelet from his wrist, putting it on his bedside table. It was time for bed, anyway, and he should change.

As he dug through his belongings for his pajamas, however, his mind wandered back to his friends. Maybe they really didn’t need him, he thought. Maybe he was a burden, like he was to his parents — never good enough, dumb Hizashi with his questions about Muggle things they all already knew about.

No. Hizashi shook his head, dispelling the thoughts before they could take root. That was no way to think.

Besides, he thought with an amused smile as he slipped into his night clothes, he was pretty sure that Aizawa at least would rather kick him out than hang around if the other boy didn’t at least like Hizashi a little.

The thought was reassuring, and it eased his mind. After that, Hizashi didn’t have any trouble falling asleep — he was even looking forward to the next day, where he would make sure to go sit with his friends again.

_ My friends… _ his lips curled into a smile, and with that final thought, Hizashi slept.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that was an information dump and a half. (Not really lmfao)
> 
> Things be happening, but what? uwu
> 
> Plot's finally moving aYE

**Author's Note:**

> We will be updating at *wendsdays. Til next time people.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Look What You Made Me Do](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16135421) by [the_crownless_queen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_crownless_queen/pseuds/the_crownless_queen)




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